SRI RAMAKRISHNA ENGINEERING COLLEGE

[Educational Service: SNR Sons Charitable Trust]

[Autonomous Institution, Reaccredited by NAAC with ‘A+’ Grade]
[Approved by AICTE and Permanently Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai]
[ISO 9001:2015 Certified and all eligible programmes Accredited by NBA]
Vattamalaipalayam, N.G.G.O. Colony Post, Coimbatore – 641 022.

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

20EE262-Basics of Electrical Engineering

Course Instructors:
Mrs.H.Vidhya, AP(Sr.G/EEE No. of
Credits: 3
20.10.2022 DEPT OF EEE,SREC 1
Module IV-Fundamentals of
Semiconductor and Diode
Theory

22-Jun-23 2
 Course Outcome

On successful completion of this module,

the students will be able to

CO4: Summarize the knowledge on

semiconductor devices, features and its
applications

22-Jun-23 3
 Syllabus Contents

Review of Intrinsic and Extrinsic

Semiconductors - PN Junction
Diode-Power Supply Circuit - Zener Diode
–Voltage Regulator - BJT construction and
working principle - BJT configurations -
JFET construction and working – MOSFET
construction and working -
Characteristics and its applications.

22-Jun-23 4
 Atoms
• Atomic structure refers to the structure of an atom comprising
a nucleus (center) in which the protons (positively charged)
and neutrons (neutral) are present.
• The negatively charged particles called electrons revolve
around the center of the nucleus.
 Classification of Materials
• Conductors –Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, Aluminum
• Semiconductors – Silicon, germanium, Selenium, Gallium
Arsenide (GaAs), Arsenic
• Insulators- Glass, Rubber, Plastic, Wood
 Energy Band
• The range of energies that an electron may
possess in an atom is known as the energy
band.

• Valence Band
– The highest energy band that contains electrons
• Conduction Band
– The lowest energy band
• Band gap
– The difference in energy between the valence and
conduction bands
22-Jun-23 7
 Conductors
• In conductors, the valence
band is only partially filled
with electrons.
• This means that the electrons
can access empty areas within
the valence band, and move
freely across all atoms that
make up the solid. A current
can therefore be generated
when a voltage is applied.

•In general, for electrons to flow in a solid, they must be

in a partially filled band or have access to a nearby
empty band.
22-Jun-23 8
 Insulator

• In an electrical insulator,
there is no possibility for
electron flow, because the
valence band is completely
filled with electrons, and the
conduction band is too far
away in energy to be
accessed by these electrons
(the band gap is too large).

22-Jun-23 9
 Semiconductor
• In semiconductor, the band gap is
small enough that electrons in the
valence band can jump into the
conduction band using thermal
energy. That is, heat in the material
(even at room temperature) gives
some of the electrons enough energy
to travel across the band gap.

• Thus, an important property of

semiconductors is that their
conductivity increases as they are
heated up and more electrons fill the
conduction band.

22-Jun-23 10
 Doping of Semiconductors
• Adding of impurities into an extremely pure
(intrinsic) semiconductor for the purpose of
modulating its electrical properties is called as
doping.

• One of the main reasons that semiconductors are

useful in electronics is that their electronics
properties can be greatly altered in a
controllable way by adding small amounts of
impurities.

22-Jun-23 11
 Review of Extrinsic and Intrinsic
Semiconductors
• Semiconductors can be classified as:
Intrinsic Semiconductor
Extrinsic Semiconductor

• Extrinsic Semiconductors are further

classified as:
❖ n-type Semiconductors
❖ p-type Semiconductors

22-Jun-23 12
 Intrinsic & Extrinsic Semiconductors
• Intrinsic Semiconductor
• Is one that is pure form of semiconductor.

• Extrinsic Semiconductor
• Is one that has been doped with impurities to
modify the number and type of free charge
carriers.

22-Jun-23 13
 Intrinsic Semiconductor

• Semiconductor in pure
form is known as
Intrinsic
Semiconductor.
• Ex.
Pure Germanium,
Pure Silicon.

• At room temp. no of
electrons equal to no. of
holes.
22-Jun-23 14
 Intrinsic Semiconductor
Energy Band Diagram

22-Jun-23 15
 Extrinsic Semiconductor

• When we add an impurity to pure

semiconductor to increase the charge carriers
then it becomes an Extrinsic Semiconductor.

• In extrinsic semiconductor, without breaking

the covalent bonds we can increase the charge
carriers.

22-Jun-23 16
 TYPE OF DOPING

• N –Type Doping
• It is to produce an abundance of mobile or
“carrier” electrons in the material.

• P –Type Doping
• It is to create an abundance of holes.

22-Jun-23 17
 N-type Semiconductor
• When we add a pentavalent impurity to pure semiconductor,
we get n-type semiconductor.

• Arsenic atom has 5 valence electrons.

• Fifth electron is superfluous, becomes free electron and enters
into conduction band.
• Therefore pentavalent impurity donates one electron and
becomes positive donor ion.
• Pentavalent impurity known as donor.
• Electrons are majority carriers and holes are minority
carriers.
22-Jun-23 18
 Contd…

22-Jun-23 19
 P-type Semiconductor
• When we add a Trivalent impurity to pure semiconductor
we get p-type semiconductor.

• Gallium atom has 3 valence electrons.

• It makes covalent bonds with adjacent three electrons of
silicon atom.
• There is a deficiency of one covalent bond and creates a hole.
• Therefore trivalent impurity accepts one electron and becomes
negative acceptor ion.
• Trivalent impurity known as acceptor.
• Holes are majority carriers and electrons are minority
carriers.
22-Jun-23 20
Contd…
P-type and N-type Semiconductors

22-Jun-23 22
 Comparison between
N-type and P-type semiconductors
S. No N-Type P-Type

Pentavalent impurities are Trivalent impurities are

1.
added. added.

Majority carriers are

2. Majority carriers are holes.
electrons.

Minority carriers are

3. Minority carriers are holes.
electrons.

Fermi level is near the Fermi level is near the

4.
conduction band. valence band.

22-Jun-23 23
 Comparison of semiconductors
Intrinsic
S. No Extrinsic Semiconductor
Semiconductor
It is formed by adding trivalent or
1. It is in pure form. pentavalent impurity to a pure
semiconductor.

Holes and electrons are No. of holes are more in p-type and
2.
equal. no. of electrons are more in n-type.

Fermi level lies in between Fermi level lies near valence band
3. valence and conduction in p-type and near conduction band
Bands. in n-type.

Ratio of majority and Ratio of majority and minority

4.
minority carriers is unity. carriers are not equal.

22-Jun-23 24
 PN Junction Diode
• A PN junction diode is two-terminal or two-electrode semiconductor device,
which allows the electric current in only one direction while blocks the
electric current in opposite or reverse direction.
• When a P-type semiconductor material is suitably joined to N-type
semiconductor, the contact surface is called a PN junction.
• The PN junction is also called as semiconductor diode .
• The left side material is a P-type semiconductor having negative acceptor
ions and positively charged holes.
• The right side material is N-type semiconductor having +ve donor ions and
free electrons.
• If the diode is forward biased, it allows the electric current flow.
• On the other hand, if the diode is reverse biased, it blocks the electric
current flow.

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 Forward Biased PN Junction diode
A forward biased PN junction conducts a current once the
barrier voltage is overcome. The external applied
potential forces majority carriers toward the junction
where recombination takes place, allowing current flow.

22-Jun-23 26
 IV Characteristic of PN Junction

• The current and voltage relationship of a PN

junction is exponential in forward bias region, and
relatively constant in reverse bias region.

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 Reverse Biased PN Junction Diode
• A reverse biased PN junction conducts almost no current. The
applied reverse bias attracts majority carriers away from the
junction. This increases the thickness of the non-conducting
depletion region.
• Reverse biased PN junctions show a temperature dependent
reverse leakage current. This is less than a µA in small silicon
diodes.

22-Jun-23 28
 Reverse Breakdown

• When a large reverse bias voltage is applied,

breakdown occurs and an enormous current flows
through the diode.

22-Jun-23 29
 PN Junction: IV Characteristics
• Current-Voltage Relationship

Forward
• Forward Bias: current
Bias
exponentially increases.

• Reverse Bias: low leakage

current equal to ~Io.
Reverse
Bias
• Ability of PN junction to
pass current in only one
direction is known as
“rectifying” behavior.
22-Jun-23 30
 Applications of PN Junction Diode
• Power Supply Circuit:
 Contd…
• Half Wave Rectifier Circuits:
 Contd…
• Full Wave Rectifier:
 Zener Diode
• A diode is a specialized electronic component with two
electrode called the anode and the cathode.
• Most diodes are made with semiconductor materials such as
silicon, germanium, or selenium.
• Zener diode is Highly doped PN junction diode.
• If the diode is heavily doped, depletion layer will be thin and
consequently, breakdown occurs at lower reverse voltage and
further, the breakdown voltage is sharp.
• Thus the break down voltage can be selected with the amount
of doping.

22-Jun-23 34
 Zener Diode
• A Zener diode is a type of diode that permits current not only in
the forward direction like a normal diode, but also in the reverse
direction if the voltage is larger than the breakdown voltage
known as “Zener knee voltage” or “Zener voltage”

22-Jun-23 35
 Zener Diode - Symbol
• The arrowhead on a Zener diode symbol points in the direction
of forward current when the diode is forward biased.
• The Zener diode is normally operated in reverse breakdown
and the current direction is then from anode to cathode

22-Jun-23 36
 Zener Diode - Circuit
• The most basic Zener diode circuit consist of a single
Zener diode and a resistor.
• The Zener diode provides the reference voltage, but a
series resistor must be in place to limit the current
into the diode otherwise a large amount of current
would flow through it and it could be destroyed.

• The value of resistor

calculated to give required
value of current for supply
voltage used.

22-Jun-23 37
 Zener Diode – Forward bias
• When a Zener diode is forward biased, it operates as a
normal diode.
• In forward biased P side connected to +ve and N side
connected to –ve terminal of battery. In this case the
electrons and holes are swept across the junction an
large current flow through it.

22-Jun-23 38
 Zener Diode – Reverse biased
• In case of reverse biased current practically zero and at
certain voltage which called Zener voltage the current
increases sharply.
• Each Zener diode has breakdown rating which
specifies the max voltage that can be dropped across it.

22-Jun-23 39
 Zener Diode - Characteristics
• The figure shows, the forward characteristics is same
as that of ordinary forward biased junction diode.

22-Jun-23 40
 Zener Diode - Characteristics
• In reverse direction however there is a very small leakage
current between 0V an the Zener voltage –i.e. tiny amount of
current is able to flow.
• Then, when the voltage reaches the breakdown voltage (VZ),
suddenly current flow through it.

22-Jun-23 41
 Zener Diode - Characteristics
• Notice that as the reverse voltage is increased the leakage
current remains essentially constant until the breakdown
voltage is reached where the current increases dramatically.

22-Jun-23 42
 Zener breakdown

• The Zener effect is a type of electrical breakdown in a

reverse biased p-n diode in which the electric field
enables tunneling of electrons from the valence to the
conduction band of a semiconductor, leading to a
large number of free minority carriers, which
suddenly increase the reverse current.

22-Jun-23 43
Comparison of Avalanche & Zener Breakdown

22-Jun-23 44
 Comparison between
Avalanche & Zener Breakdown
Basis for Avalanche
Zener Breakdown
difference Breakdown
• For quantum
• High value of
tunneling.
Process reverse bias voltage
• For a specific
• Impact ionization
voltage
Highly doped n and
PN junction diode
Structure p region (zener
with normal doping
diode)
Temperature
Positive Negative
Coefficient
22-Jun-23 45
 Basic Parameters of a Zener Diode

• The Zener Voltage (Vz) must be specified.

• The most common range of zener voltage is 3.3 to 75
volts, however voltage out of this range are available.
• A tolerance of the specified voltage must be stated.
• While the most popular tolerance are 5% and
10%,more precision tolerance as low as 0.05% are
available. A test current (Iz) must be specified with
the voltage and tolerance.
• The power handling capability must be specified for
the zener diode. Popular power ranges are: ¼, ½, 1, 5,
10 and 50 watts.

22-Jun-23 46
 Applications of Zener Diode
• The most common application of Zener Diode is
❖ Zener Comparator
❖ Zener in Power Supplies
❖ It is normally used as voltage reference.
❖ Zener diodes are used in voltage stabilizers or
shunt regulators.
❖ Zener diodes are used in switching operations.
❖ Zener diodes are used in clipping and clamping
circuits.
❖ Zener diodes are used in various protection
circuits

22-Jun-23 47
 Voltage Regulator Circuit
• A voltage regulator is an electronic circuit that provides a
stable dc voltage independent of the load current,
temperature and a.c line voltage variations
 Transistors and Its Types
• A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or
switch electronic signals.
• Transistors are broadly divided into three types: bipolar
transistors (bipolar junction transistors: BJTs), field-effect
transistors (FETs), and insulated-gate bipolar transistors
(IGBTs).
• A BJT is a bipolar transistor is a transistor that uses both
electrons and holes as charge carriers. Two types of bipolar
transistor are manufactured: NPN and PNP.
• A field-effect transistor is a unipolar device constructed with
no pn junction in the main current-carrying path. Also, two
types of field-effect transistor are manufactured: N-channel
and P-channel.
• An IGBT consists of a voltage-driven MOSFET followed by a
high-current transistor.
Contd…
 BJT
• A bipolar junction transistor is a three-terminal
semiconductor device that consists of two p-n junctions which
are able to amplify or magnify a signal.
• It is a current controlled device.
• The three terminals of the BJT are the base, the collector, and
the emitter.
• Emitter-heavily doped, Base- lightly doped,
Collector-Moderately doped
 Types of BJT
PNP BJT:
• In PNP BJT, the n-type semiconductor is sandwiched between
the two p-type semiconductors. The two p-type
semiconductors act as emitter and collector respectively while
the n-type semiconductor acts as a base.
• The current enters the transistor through the emitter such that
the emitter-base junction is forward biased and the
collector-base junction is reverse biased.
 Contd…
NPN BJT:
• In NPN BJT, p-type semiconductor is sandwiched between the
two n-type semiconductors.
• The two n-type semiconductors act as emitter and collector
respectively while the p-type semiconductor acts as a base.
 Early Effect
• Due to forward bias, the base-emitter junction JE acts as a
forward biased diode and due to reverse bias, the
collector-base junction JC acts as a reverse biased diode.
• The width of the depletion region at the base-emitter junction
JE is very small whereas the width of the depletion region at the
collector-base junction JC is very large.
• If the output voltage VCB applied to the collector-base junction
JC is further increased, the depletion region width further
increases.
• The base region is lightly doped as compared to the collector
region. So the depletion region penetrates more into the base
region and less into the collector region.
• As a result, the width of the base region decreases.
• This dependency of base width on the output voltage (VCB) is
known as an early effect.
22-Jun-23 54
 Punch Through
• If the output voltage VCB applied to the collector-base junction
JC is highly increased, the base width may be reduced to zero and
causes a voltage breakdown in the transistor. This phenomenon
is known as punch through.

22-Jun-23 55
 Operation of BJT
• There are three operating regions of a bipolar junction
transistor:
• Active region: The region in which the transistors operate as
an amplifier.
• Saturation region: The region in which the transistor is fully
on and operates as a switch such that collector current is equal
to the saturation current.
• Cut-off region: The region in which the transistor is fully off
and collector current is equal to zero.
 Configuration of BJT
• Common Emitter Configuration – has both voltage and
current gain
• Common Collector Configuration – has no voltage gain but
has a current gain
• Common base configuration – has no current gain but has a
voltage gain
 Common Emitter Configuration
• In common emitter configuration, base is the input terminal,
collector is the output terminal and emitter is the common
terminal for both input and output.
• In common emitter configuration, the emitter terminal is
grounded so the common emitter configuration is also known
as grounded emitter configuration.
• Sometimes common emitter configuration is also referred to
as CE configuration, common emitter amplifier, or CE
amplifier.
• The common emitter (CE) configuration is the most widely
used transistor configuration.

22-Jun-23 58
 Common Emitter Configuration

The common emitter

(CE) amplifiers are
used when large
current gain is needed.

22-Jun-23 59
 Common Emitter Configuration
Input characteristics:
• The input characteristics describe the relationship
between input current or base current (IB) and input
voltage or base-emitter voltage (VBE).
• The input current or base current (IB) is taken along
y-axis (vertical line) and the input voltage (VBE) is taken
along x-axis (horizontal line).
• To determine the input characteristics, the output
voltage VCE is kept constant at zero volts and the input
voltage VBE is increased from zero volts to different
voltage levels.
• For each voltage level of input voltage (VBE), the
corresponding input current (IB) is recorded.

22-Jun-23 60
 Common Emitter Configuration

22-Jun-23 61
 Common Emitter Configuration
Output characteristics:
• The output current or collector current (IC) is taken along
y-axis (vertical line) and the output voltage (VCE) is taken along
x-axis (horizontal line).
• To determine the output characteristics, the input current or
base current IB is kept constant at 0 μA and the output voltage
VCE is increased from zero volts to different voltage levels.
• For each level of output voltage, the corresponding output
current (IC) is recorded.

22-Jun-23 62
 Common Emitter Configuration

22-Jun-23 63
 Common Collector Configuration
• In this configuration, the base terminal of the transistor serves
as the input, the emitter terminal is the output and the
collector terminal is common for both input and output.
• Hence, it is named as common collector configuration.
• The input is applied between the base and collector while the
output is taken from the emitter and collector.
• Common collector configuration is also known as Grounded
Collector Configuration.

22-Jun-23 64
 Common Collector Configuration

22-Jun-23 65
 Input characteristics
• The input characteristics describe the
relationship between input current or base
current (IB) and input voltage or
base-collector voltage (VBC).
• The output voltage VEC is kept constant at 3V
and the input voltage VBC is increased from
zero volts to different voltage levels. For each
level of input voltage VBC, the corresponding
input current IB is noted.
• The output voltage VEC is increased from 3V
to 5V and then kept constant.

• While increasing the output voltage VEC, the input voltage VBC is kept
constant at zero volts.
• Then the input voltage VBC is increased from zero volts to different voltage
levels. For each level of input voltage VBC, the corresponding input
current IB is noted.

22-Jun-23 66
 Output characteristics
• The output characteristics describe the relationship between
output current or emitter current (IE) and output voltage or
emitter-collector voltage (VEC).
• The input current IB is kept constant at zero micro amperes and
the output voltage VEC is increased from zero volts to different
voltage levels. For each level of output voltage VEC, the
corresponding output current IE is noted.
• The input current (IB) is increased from 0 μA to 20 μA and then
kept constant at 20 μA. While increasing the input current (IB),
the output voltage (VEC) is kept constant at 0 volts.
• The output voltage (VEC) is increased from zero volts to different
voltage levels. For each level of output voltage (VEC), the
corresponding output current (IE) is recorded.

22-Jun-23 67
 Output characteristics

22-Jun-23 68
 Transistor h-parameters

• Input Impedance (hic):

hic =
• Output Admittance (hoc):
hoc =
• Forward Current Gain(hfc):
hfc =

• Reverse Voltage Gain(hrc):

hrc =

22-Jun-23 69
Common Base Configuration
Characteristics of CB Configuration
 Comparison between
CB, CE & CC Configuration
Common
Parameter Common Base Common Emitter
Collector
Voltage Gain High, Same as CE High Less than Unity

Current Gain Less than Unity High High

Power Gain Moderate High Moderate

Phase
No (0°) Yes (180˚) No (0°)
inversion
Leakage Very small Very large Very large
current
Input Low Moderate High
Impedance (50 - 500 Ω) (500 - 5000 KΩ) (150 - 600 KΩ)

Output High Moderate Low

Impedance (1 – 10 MΩ) (50 - 500 KΩ) (100 - 1000 Ω)

For High For audio frequency For impedance

Application
22-Jun-23 72
 Transistor Parameters
Dynamic input resistance (ri):
• Dynamic input resistance is defined as the ratio of change in
input voltage or emitter voltage (VBE) to the corresponding
change in input current or emitter current (IE), with the output
voltage or collector voltage (VCB) kept at constant.

• The input resistance of common base amplifier is very low.

22-Jun-23 73
 Dynamic output resistance (ro)
• Dynamic output resistance is defined as the ratio of change in
output voltage or collector voltage (VCB) to the corresponding
change in output current or collector current (IC), with the
input current or emitter current (IE) kept at constant.

• The output resistance of common base amplifier is very high.

22-Jun-23 74
 Forward Current gain (α)
• The current gain of a transistor in CB configuration is defined
as the ratio of output current or collector current (IC) to the
input current or emitter current (IE).

• The current gain of a transistor in CB configuration is less than

unity. The typical current gain of a common base amplifier is
0.98.

22-Jun-23 75
 Reverse Voltage Gain

• The reverse voltage gain of a transistor in CB configuration is

defined as the ratio of input voltage or Base-Emitter voltage
(VBE) to the output voltage or Collector-Base Voltage (V CB) by
keeping input emitter current as constant.

22-Jun-23 76
 Applications of BJT
• Switching
• Amplification
• Converters
Automatic switch
Temperature sensors
Electronic switches
• Amplifiers
High driving capability
Detection circuits
High-frequency operation
Demodulator and modulator
Digital switch
• Clippers
Oscillation circuit
 FET (Field Effect Transistor)
• The Field-Effect Transistor (FET) is a transistor that uses an
electric field to control the shape and hence the
conductivity of a channel of one type of charge carrier in a
semiconductor material.
• FETs are unipolar transistors as they involve
single-carrier-type operation.

22-Jun-23 78
Types of Field Effect Transistors

22-Jun-23 79
 Junction Field Effect Transistor
• JFET is a three terminal voltage controlled semiconductor
device in which the current conduction is either by the
electrons or holes.
• The current conduction is controlled by means of an electric
field between the gate electrode and the conduction channel of
the JFET.
• The JFET has high input impedance and low noise level.
• Three Terminals are Gate(G), Drain(D) and Source (S).

22-Jun-23 80
 Field Effect Transistor

The FET's three terminals are:

• Source (S), through which the carriers enter the channel.
Conventionally, current entering the channel at S is
designated by IS.
• Drain (D), through which the carriers leave the channel.
Conventionally, current entering the channel at D is
designated by ID. Drain-to-source voltage is VDS.
• Gate (G), the terminal that modulates the channel
conductivity. By applying voltage to G, we control ID.
• Most FETs have a fourth terminal called the body, base, bulk,
or substrate.

22-Jun-23 81
 N-Channel JFET
• It consists of an n – type silicon bar forming the conduction
channel for the charge carriers.
• The PN – junction forming diodes are connected internally and
a common terminal called GATE is taken out from the p -
Region.
• The other two terminals viz. Source and Drain are taken out
from the bar.
 P-Channel JFET
• It consists of a p – type silicon bar forming the conduction
channel for the charge carriers.
• The PN– junction forming diodes are connected internally and
a common terminal called GATE is taken out from the n -
Region.
• The other two terminals viz. Source and Drain are taken out
from the bar.

22-Jun-23 83
 Working Principle of N-Channel JFET
• When voltage VDS is applied between the drain and source
terminals and gate terminal voltage is zero, the two
PN-junctions at the sides establishes depletion layers.
• The electrons flow from source to drain through the channel
between the depletion layers.
• The width of these depletion layers determine the width of the
channel and hence the current conduction through the bar.
 Contd…
• Now, when a reverse voltage VGS is applied between the gate
and the source terminals, the width of depletion layers is
increased and this decreases the width of the conduction
channel, thereby increasing the resistance of conduction
channel.
• Consequently, the current from source to drain is decreased.
• On the other hand, when the reverse voltage VGS is decreased
the width of depletion layer also decreases.
• Hence, the width of conduction channel increases and the
resulting source to drain current.
• Therefore, the current from source to drain can be controlled
by the application voltage (electric field) on the gate terminal.
• For this reason it is known as Field Effect Transistor.
 Contd…
• Hence, the JFET operates on the principle that the width and
resistance of conduction channel can be varied by changing
the reverse voltage VGS.
 Circuit Diagram

22-Jun-23 87
 Characteristics of JFET
• There are two types of static characteristics
• Output or drain characteristics:
• The curve drawn between drain current
ID and drain-source voltage VDS with gate-to source
voltage VGS as the parameter is called
the drain or output characteristic.
• Transfer characteristics:
• By keeping drain-source voltage, VDS constant and
determining drain current, ID for various values of
gate-source voltage, VGS.

22-Jun-23 88
 Drain Characteristics

22-Jun-23 89
 Ohmic Region
• When VGS = 0, the depletion layer of the
channel is very small and the JFET acts like a
voltage controlled resistor.
• The drain current increases linearly with the
increase in Vds, up to the knee point.
• This region, (to the left of the knee point) of
the curve is called the channel
ohmic region, because in this region the FET
behaves like an ordinary resistor.

22-Jun-23 90
 Saturation or Active Region
• At a particular voltage of Vds is reached, the channel is
pinched off. The drain current ID no longer increases with
the increase in Vds. It approaches a constant saturation
value.
• The value of voltage VDS at which the channel is pinched off
(i.e. all the free charges from the channel get removed), is
called the pinch-off voltage Vp.
• The region of the characteristic in which drain current ID
remains fairly constant is called the pinch-off region.
• It is also sometimes called the saturation
region or amplifier region. In this region the JFET operates
as a constant current device since drain current (or output
current) remains almost constant. It is the normal operating
region of the JFET when used as an amplifier.

22-Jun-23 91
 Breakdown Region

• If the drain-source voltage, Vds is continuously

increased, a stage comes when the gate-channel
junction breaks down. At this point current
increases very rapidly.

22-Jun-23 92
 Cut Off Region

• In this cutoff region, there will be no drain

current flowing and thus, the N-channel JFET is
in OFF condition.
• The Gate voltage, VGS is sufficient to cause the JFET
to act as an open circuit as the channel resistance is
at maximum.

22-Jun-23 93
 Drain Characteristics

22-Jun-23 94
 Transfer Characteristics

22-Jun-23 95
 Advantages of FET
• A JFET is a voltage controlled, constant current device in
which variation in input voltage control the output current.
Some of the advantages of JFET are:
1. It has a very high input impedance. This permits high degree
of isolation between the input and output circuits.
2. The operation of a JFET depends upon the bulk material
current carriers that do not cross junctions. Therefore, the
less noise in the device.
3. A JFET has a negative temperature co-efficient of resistance.
This avoids the risk of thermal runaway.
4. A JFET has a very high power gain. This eliminates the
necessity of using driver stages.
5. A JFET has a smaller size, longer life and high efficiency

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 Differences between JFET & BJT
S. No JFET BJT
There is only one type of carrier, i.e.
Both electrons and holes play
1. holes in p-type channel and electrons
role in conduction.
in n-type channel.
2. It is also called unipolar transistor. It is called as bipolar transistor.
The input circuit of a JFET is reverse The input circuit of a BJT is
3. biased, therefore, it has a high input forward biased and hence has
impedance. low input impedance.
Current control device.
Voltage control device.
(BJT uses the current into its
(a JFET uses voltage on the gate
4. base to control a large current
terminal to control the current
between collector and
between drain and source.)
emitter. )
5. Noise level in JFET is very small. Noise level in BJT is high.
Easy to fabricate and occupy less Difficult to fabricate and occupy
6.
space
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large space 97
 Applications of JFET
It is used in many applications like
• Large scale amplifier circuits
• Analog switches
• Voltage regulators
• Buffer
• Amplifiers
• Chopper
• Current source
• Phase shift oscillator
• Voltage Variable Resistor (VVR) or Voltage
development Resistor (VDR).

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 MOSFET
• MOSFET stands for Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistor
or Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor.
• This is also called as IGFET meaning Insulated Gate Field Effect
Transistor.
• The FET is operated in both depletion and enhancement
modes of operation.
• There are three terminals-Gate (G), Drain (D) and Source (S).
 Construction of MOSFET
• An oxide layer is deposited on the substrate to which the gate
terminal is connected.
• This oxide layer acts as an insulator (sio2 insulates from the
substrate), and hence the MOSFET has another name as IGFET.
• In the construction of MOSFET, a lightly doped substrate, is
diffused with a heavily doped region.
• Depending upon the substrate used, they are called
as P-type and N-type MOSFETs.
 Contd…
• The voltage at gate controls the operation of the MOSFET.
• In this case, both positive and negative voltages can be applied
on the gate as it is insulated from the channel.
• With negative gate bias voltage, it acts as depletion
MOSFET while with positive gate bias voltage it acts as
an Enhancement MOSFET.
 Types of MOSFET

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NMOS&PMOS
Construction of N-Channel MOSFET
 Contd…
• A lightly doped P-type substrate is taken into which two
heavily doped N-type regions are diffused, which act as source
and drain.
• Between these two N+ regions, there occurs diffusion to form
an N channel, connecting drain and source.
• A thin layer of Silicon dioxide (SiO2) is grown over the entire
surface and holes are made to draw ohmic contacts for drain
and source terminals.
• A conducting layer of aluminum is laid over the entire
channel, upon this SiO2 layer from source to drain which
constitutes the gate.
• The SiO2 substrate is connected to the common or ground
terminals.
Construction of P-Channel MOSFET
 Contd…
• The construction and working of a PMOS is same as NMOS.
• A lightly doped n-substrate is taken into which two heavily
doped P+ regions are diffused.
• These two P+ regions act as source and drain.
• A thin layer of SiO2 is grown over the surface.
• Holes are cut through this layer to make contacts with P+
regions.
Working of N-Channel Depletion Mode
MOSFET
 Contd…
• If the NMOS has to be worked in depletion mode, the gate
terminal should be at negative potential while drain is at
positive potential.
• When no voltage is applied between gate and source, some
current flows due to the voltage between drain and source.
• Let some negative voltage is applied at VGG, then the minority
carriers i.e. holes, get attracted and settle near SiO2 layer. But
the majority carriers, i.e., electrons get repelled.
• With some amount of negative potential at VGG a certain
amount of drain current ID flows through source to drain.
• When this negative potential is further increased, the electrons
get depleted and the current ID decreases.
• Hence the more negative the applied VGG, the lesser the value
of drain current ID will be.
 Contd…
• The channel nearer to drain gets more depleted than at source
and the current flow decreases due to this effect.
• Hence it is called as depletion mode MOSFET.
Working of N-Channel Enhancement Mode
MOSFET
 Contd…
• The same MOSFET can be worked in enhancement mode, if we
can change the polarities of the voltage VGG.
• So, let us consider the MOSFET with gate source
voltage VGG being positive .
• When no voltage is applied between gate and source, some
current flows due to the voltage between drain and source.
• Let some positive voltage is applied at VGG, then the minority
carriers i.e. holes, get repelled and the majority carriers i.e.
electrons gets attracted towards the SiO2 layer.
• With some amount of positive potential at VGG a certain
amount of drain current ID flows through source to drain.
 Contd…
• When this positive potential is further increased, the
current ID increases due to the flow of electrons from source
and these are pushed further due to the voltage applied at VGG.
• Hence the more positive the applied VGG, the more the value of
drain current ID will be.
• The current flow gets enhanced due to the increase in electron
flow better than in depletion mode.
• Hence this mode is termed as Enhanced Mode MOSFET.
 Working of PMOS
• When the gate terminal is given a negative potential
at VGG than the drain source voltage VDD, then due to the P+
regions present, the hole current is increased through the
diffused P channel and the PMOS works in Enhancement
Mode.
• When the gate terminal is given a positive potential
at VGG than the drain source voltage VDD, then due to the
repulsion, the depletion occurs due to which the flow of
current reduces. Thus PMOS works in Depletion Mode.
 Drain Characteristics
• The drain characteristics of a MOSFET are drawn between the
drain current ID and the drain source voltage VDS. The
characteristic curve is as shown below for different values of
inputs. Actually when VDS is increased, the drain
current ID should increase, but due to the applied VGS, the
drain current is controlled at certain level. Hence the gate
current controls the output drain current
• t.
 Transfer Characteristics
• Transfer characteristics define the change in the value
of VDS with the change in ID and VGS in both depletion and
enhancement modes. The below transfer characteristic curve
is drawn for drain current versus gate to source voltage.
 Operating region of MOSFET
• Then MOSFETs have the ability to operate within three different
regions:
1. Cut-off Region: with VGS < Vthreshold the gate-source voltage is much
lower than the transistors threshold voltage so the MOSFET
transistor is switched “fully-OFF” thus, ID = 0, with the transistor
acting like an open switch regardless of the value of VDS.
2. Linear (Ohmic) Region: with VGS > Vthreshold and VDS < VGS the
transistor is in its constant resistance region behaving as a
voltage-controlled resistance whose resistive value is determined by
the gate voltage, VGS level.
3. Saturation Region: with VGS > Vthreshold and VDS > VGS the transistor
is in its constant current region and is therefore “fully-ON”. The
Drain current ID = Maximum with the transistor acting as a closed
switch.

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 MOSFET Applications
• MOSFETs are used in digital integrated circuits, such as
microprocessors.
• Used in calculators, memories and in logic CMOS gates.
• Used as analog switches and amplifiers.
• MOSFET devices are also applied in audio-frequency power amplifiers
for public address systems.
• Used in the applications of power electronics and switch mode power
supplies.
• MOSFETs are used as oscillators in radio systems.
• Used in automobile sound systems and in sound reinforcement
systems.
• Auto Intensity Control of Street Lights using MOSFET
• EEPROM based Preset Speed Control of BLDC Motor
• LDR Based Power Saver for Intensity Controlled Street Light
• SVPWM (Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation)

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 Thank you…..!

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