AN101
An Introduction to FETs
The family tree of FET devices (Figure 1) may be divided
into two main branches, Junction FETs (JFETs) and Insu-
lated Gate FETs (or MOSFETs, metal-oxide- semicon-
ductor field-effect transistors). Junction FETs are in-
herently depletion-mode devices, and are available in
both n- and p-channel configurations. MOSFETs are
available in both enhancement and depletion modes, and
also exist as both n- and p-channel devices. The two main
FET groups depend on different phenomena for their op-
eration, and will be discussed separately.
Introduction
The basic principle of the field-effect transistor (FET) has
been known since J. E. Lilienfeld’s patent of 1925. The
theoretical description of a FET made by Shockley in
1952 paved the way for development of a classic electron-
ic device which provides the designer the means to ac-
complish nearly every circuit function. At one time, the
field-effect transistor was known as a “unipolar” transis-
tor. The term refers to the fact that current is transported
by carriers of one polarity (majority), whereas in the con-
ventional bipolar transistor carriers of both polarities
(majority and minority) are involved.
Junction FETs
In its most elementary form, this transistor consists of a
piece of high-resistivity semiconductor material (usually
silicon) which constitutes a channel for the majority carri-
er flow. The magnitude of this current is controlled by a
voltage applied to a gate, which is a reverse-biased pn
junction formed along the channel. Implicit in this de-
scription is the fundamental difference between JFET and
bipolar devices: when the JFET junction is reverse-biased
the gate current is practically zero, whereas the base cur-
rent of the bipolar transistor is always some value greater
than zero. The JFET is a high-input resistance device,
while the input resistance of the bipolar transistor is com-
paratively low. If the channel is doped with a donor impu-
rity, n-type material is formed and the channel current
will consist of electrons. If the channel is doped with an
acceptor impurity, p-type material will be formed and the
channel current will consist of holes. N-channel devices
have greater conductivity than p-channel types, since
electrons have higher mobility than do holes; thus n-chan-
nel JFETs are approximately twice as efficient conductors
compared to their p-channel counterparts.
This Application Note provides an insight into the nature of
the FET, and touches briefly on its basic characteristics, ter-
minology, parameters, and typical applications.
The following list of FET applications indicates the ver-
satility of the FET family:
Amplifiers
S Small Signal
S Low Distortion
S High Gain
S Low Noise
S Selectivity
S DC
Switches
S Chopper-Type
S Analog Gate
S Communicator
Protection Diodes
S Low-leakage
S High-Frequency
Current Limiters
Voltage-Controlled Resistors
Mixers
Oscillators
FETs
Junction
MOS
Enhancement
Not Possible
Depletion
Depletion
Enhancement
n
p
n
p
n
p
Figure 1. FET Family Tree
Updates to this app note may be obtained via facsimile by calling Siliconix FaxBack, 1-408-970-5600. Please request FaxBack document #70594.
Siliconix
1
10-Mar-97