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Outline
•what is FET?
•FET families
•Operation of jFET
•Application of JFET
•Comparison with BJT
•Drain Characteristics of JFET
•Trans-conductance of JFET
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 What is FET?
Field effect transistors are three
terminal semiconductor device
(Source, Drain and Gate) operates
based on Gate voltage (field effect)
to control the flow of current from
Drain to Source.
Actual electron (majority carrier) flows source to Drain.

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 What is FET?
Field effect transistors are called
voltage controller device, since
Gate voltage is controlling the
output current.
•BJT is called current controlled device, since
Base current controls the output current.

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 FET
families-

jFET IGFET

n- p-
MosFET
channel
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channel
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• JFET – Junction Field Effect Transistor
• IGFET – Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor
– MOSFET – Metal Oxide semiconductor FET

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 JFET
Based on type of doping material
used as bar, we can classify jFET as
p-channel and n-channel jFET.

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Schematic symbols
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 Common Source Mode of
Configuration

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 Common Source Mode of
Configuration
•The Drain supply voltage is positive and
gate supply voltage is negative.
•The depletion layer exist because free
electrons diffuse from n–region to p-
region, which gives field effect.
•The recombination of free electrons
and holes creates the depletion layer as
shown in shaded area.
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 Reverse bias of Gate
• The p-type gate and the n-type source forms the
gate source diode.
• we always reverse bias the gates of diode.
• Because of reverse bias the gate current IG is
approximately 0, which is equivalent to JFET has
infinite input resistance.
• Input resistance is in the hundreds of mega
ohms.
• So JFET excel in application in which high input
impedance is required.

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 Gate voltage control drain current
• The electrons flowing from the source to the
drain must passes through the narrow channel
between the depletion layers.
• When the gate voltage becomes more
negative the depletion layer is expanded and
the conducting channel becomes narrower.
• The more negative the gate voltage the
smaller the current between the source and
the drain.

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 Gate voltage control drain current
• The JFET is a voltage controlled device because an
input voltage control and output current.
• In JFET the gate to source voltage VGS determines
how much current flows between the source and
drain.
• When VGS is zero maximum drain current flows
through the JFET
• JFET becomes on.
• If VGS is negative enough the depletion layers
touch and drain current is cut off.

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 Operation of JFET
• Consider a sample bar of n type
semiconductor.
• This is called n- channel and it is electrically
equivalent to a resistance as shown in figure.

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 Operation of JFET
• Ohmic contacts are added on each side of the
channel to bring the external connection. Thus if
a voltage is applied across the bar the current
flows through the channel.
• The terminal from where the majority carriers (
electrons ) enter the channel is called source
designated by S.
• The terminal through which majority carriers
leave the channel is called drain and designated
by D.
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 Operation of JFET
• For an n-channel device electrons are majority
carriers. Hence the circuit behaves like a DC
voltage VDS applied across a resistance RDS. The
resulting current is the drain current ID.
• If VDS increases ID increases proportionally.
• Now on both sides of the n-type bar heavily
doped regions of p-type impurity have been
formed by any method for creating PN junction.
These impurity regions are called gates (gate 1
and 2).
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 Operation of JFET

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 Operation of JFET
• The Gate-source is reverse biased, Gate is connected
with negative voltage.
• The drain is connected with positive supply compared
to source.
• The electrons flowing from the source to the drain
must passes through the narrow channel between the
depletion layers.
• When the gate voltage becomes more negative the
depletion layer is expanded and the conducting
channel becomes narrower.
• The more negative the gate voltage the smaller the
current between the source and the drain.

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 Operation of JFET
• Both the gates are internally connected and
they are grounded yielding zero gate source
voltage (VGS =0).
• The word GATE is used because the potential
applied between gate and source controls the
channel width and hence the current.

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 Operation of JFET
• As with all PN junction, a depletion region is
formed on the two sides of the reverse biased PN
junction.
• The current carriers have diffused across the
junction leaving only uncovered positive ions on
the n-side and negative ions and the p-side.
• The depletion region width increases with the
magnitude of reverse bias.
• The conductivity of this channel is normally zero
because of the unavailability of current carriers.
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 Operation of JFET
Why depletion layer width is more near Drain?
• The potential at any point along the channel
depends on the distance of that point from
the drain, points close to the drain are at a
higher positive potential relative to ground
than points close to the source.
• Both depletion regions are therefore subject
to greater reverse voltages near the drain.

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 Operation of JFET
Why depletion layer width is more near Drain?
• Therefore the depletion region width
increases as we move towards drain.
• The flow of electrons from source to drain is
now restricted to the narrow channel between
the no conducting depletion region.
• The width of this channel determines the
resistance between drain and source.

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 Application of JFET
• Almost all the application where BJT is used,
can be replaced by FET.
– Amplifier, Oscillator, switch
• Most of the modern integrated circuits uses
FET.
• Since the input impedance is very high, JFET
can be used in Buffer Amplifier

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 Comparison of JFET with BJT
• BJT is the current controlled device, where the
input base current controls the output current
(IC).
• JFET is the voltage control device, where the
input Gate voltage controls the output current
(ID).

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 Comparison of JFET with BJT
• BJT is the Bipolar device, since it relies on both
free electrons and holes.
• JFET is the unipolar device, since it relies on
either free electrons or holes.
• FETs are smaller in size compared to BJT
• Consume less power by FET compared to BJT,
hence FET is used in many applications where
the power consumption is major importance.

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET
• Drain Characteristics of JFET is also called as
Output characteristics of JFET.
• It is drawn between Drain source voltage VDS
to the drain current ID.
• Since the input side Gate voltage is going to
control the output current of JFET, for each
fixed Gate voltage (negative), we shall obtain
different curves on output characteristics.

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET
• VGS equals to the VGG and VDS equals to VDD

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET
• Assume the Gate is shorted

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Drain Characteristics of JFET

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 Transconductance Characteristics of
JFET

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