Field Effect Transistors Analysis

Mr. Zeeshan Ali, Asst. Professor

Department: B.E. Electronic & Telecommunication

Subject: Analog Electronics - I
Semester: III

eCourseware@AIKTC
Content

 Physical operation and current-voltage

characteristics
 DC analysis
 Biasing in MOS amplifier circuit and basic
configuration
Introduction to FET

 FET: Field Effect Transistor

 There are two types
 MOSFET: metal-oxide-semiconductor FET
 JFET: Junction FET
 MOSFET is also called the insulated-gate FET or
IGFET.
 Quite small
 Simple manufacturing process
 Low power consumption
 Widely used in VLSI circuits(>800 million on a single IC chip)
Device structure of MOSFET (n-type)

Gate(G)
Source(S) Oxide Drain(D)
(SiO2)
Metal

n+ Channel area n+

p-type Semiconductor
Substrate (Body)
Body(B)

 For normal operation, it is needed to create a

conducting channel between Source and Drain
Creating a channel for current flow
 An n channel can be induced at
the top of the substrate beneath
the gate by applying a positive
voltage to the gate
 The channel is an
inversion layer
 The value of VGS at which a
sufficient number of mobile
electrons accumulate to form a
conducting channel is called the
threshold voltage (Vt)
Device structure of MOSFET (n-type)
L = 0.1 to 3 mm
W = 0.2 to 100 mm
Tox= 2 to 50 nm

Cross-section
view
Classification of FET

 According to the type of the channel, FETs can

be classified as
 MOSFET
 N channel • Enhancement type
• Depletion type
• Enhancement type
 P channel
• Depletion type

 JFET
 P channel

 N channel
Drain current under small voltage vDS

 An NMOS transistor with vGS > Vt and with a small vDS

applied.
- The channel depth is uniform and the device acts as a
resistance.
 The channel conductance is
proportional to effective voltage,
or excess gate voltage, (vGS – Vt) .
 Drain current is proportional to
(vGS – Vt) and vDS.
Drain current under small voltage vDS
Operation as vDS is increased

 The induced channel acquires a tapered shape.

 Channel resistance increases as vDS is increased.
 Drain current is controlled by both of the two voltages.

B
Channel pinched off

 When VGD = Vt or VGS - VDS = Vt , the channel is

pinched off
 Inversion layer disappeared at the drain point
 Drain current does not disappeared!
Drain current under pinch off
• The electrons pass through the pinch off area at very
high speed so as the current continuity holds, similar to
the water flow at the Yangtze Gorges

Pinched-off channel
Drain current under pinch off
 Drain current is saturated and only controlled by
the vGS
Drain current controlled by vGS

 vGS creates the channel.

 Increasing vGS will increase the conductance of
the channel.
 At saturation region only the vGS controls the
drain current.
 At subthreshold region, drain current has the
exponential relationship with vGS
p channel device

 Two reasons for readers to be

familiar with p channel device
 Existence in discrete-circuit.
 More important is the
utilization of complementary
MOS or CMOS circuits.
p channel device

 Structure of p channel device

 The substrate is n type and the inversion layer is p type.
 Carrier is hole.
 Threshold voltage is negative.
 All the voltages and currents are opposite to the ones of n
channel device.
 Physical operation is similar to that of n channel device.
Complementary MOS or CMOS

 The PMOS transistor is formed in n well.

 Another arrangement is also possible in which an n-type body is used and
the n device is formed in a p well.
 CMOS is the most widely used of all the analog and digital IC circuits.
Current-voltage characteristics

 Circuit symbol
 Output characteristic curves
 Channel length modulation
 Characteristics of p channel device
 Body effect
 Temperature effects and Breakdown Region
Circuit symbol

(a) Circuit symbol for the n-channel enhancement-type MOSFET.

(b) Modified circuit symbol with an arrowhead on the source terminal to
distinguish it from the drain and to indicate device polarity (i.e., n channel).
(c) Simplified circuit symbol to be used when the source is connected to the
body or when the effect of the body on device operation is unimportant.
Output characteristic curves of NMOS

(a) An n-channel enhancement-

type MOSFET with vGS and vDS
applied and with the normal
directions of current flow
indicated.
(b) The iD–vDS characteristics for a
device with k’n (W/L) = 1.0
mA/V2.
Output characteristic curves of NMOS

• Three distinct region

 Cutoff region
 Triode region
 Saturation region
• Characteristic equations
• Circuit model
Cutoff region

• Biased voltage
vGS  Vt
• The transistor is turned off.

iD  0
• Operating in cutoff region as a switch.
Triode region

• Biased voltage
v GS  V t
v DS  v GS  V t
• The channel depth changes from uniform to tapered
shape.
• Drain current is controlled not only by vDS but also
by vGS
W  1 2
iD  k n ' ( v
 GS  V t ) v DS  v DS 
L 2  process transcon-
W ductance parameter
 kn ' ( v GS  V t ) v DS
L
Triode region

• Assuming that the draint-source voltage is

sufficiently small, the MOS operates as a linear
resistance
v DS 1
r DS  
iD W
v GS  V GS kn' (V GS  V t )
L
 1
W
kn' V OV
L
Saturation region

• Biased voltage
v GS  V t
v DS  v GS  V t
• The channel is pinched off.
• Drain current is controlled only by vGS
W
iD  1
2 k n ' （ v GS  V t ) 2
L

• Drain current is independent of vDS and behaves as

an ideal current source.
Saturation region

 The iD–vGS characteristic for

an enhancement-type NMOS
transistor in saturation
 Vt = 1 V, k’n W/L = 1.0
mA/V2
 Square law of iD–vGS
characteristic curve.
Channel length modulation

• Explanation for channel length modulation

 Pinched point moves to source terminal with the
voltage vDS increased.
 Effective channel length reduced
 Channel resistance decreased
 Drain current increases with the voltage vDS
increased.
• Current drain is modified by the channel
length modulation
W
iD  1
2 k n ' （ v GS  V t )（
2
1＋  v DS )
L
Channel length modulation

The MOSFET parameter VA depends on the process technology and, for a

given process, is proportional to the channel length L.
Channel length modulation

• MOS transistors don’t behave an ideal current

source due to channel length modulation.
• The output resistance is finite.
1
  iD  1 VA
ro     
 v
 DS  ID ID
v GS  const .

• The output resistance is inversely proportional to

the drain current.
Large-signal equivalent circuit model

Large-signal equivalent circuit model of the n-channel

MOSFET in saturation, incorporating the output resistance
ro. The output resistance models the linear dependence of iD
on vDS
Characteristics of p channel device

(a) Circuit symbol for the p-channel enhancement-type MOSFET.

(b) Modified symbol with an arrowhead on the source lead.
(c) Simplified circuit symbol for the case where the source is connected to the
body.
Characteristics of p channel device

 The MOSFET with voltages applied and the directions of

current flow indicated.
 The relative levels of the terminal voltages of the
enhancement-type PMOS transistor for operation in the triode
region and in the saturation region.
Characteristics of p channel device

Large-signal equivalent circuit model of the p-channel

MOSFET in saturation, incorporating the output resistance
ro. The output resistance models the linear dependence of iD
on vDS
The body effect

 In discrete circuit usually there is no body effect due

to the connection between body and source terminal.
 In IC circuit the substrate is connected to the most
negative power supply for NMOS circuit in order to
maintain the pn junction reversed biased.
 The body effect---the body voltage can control iD
 Widen the depletion layer
 Reduce the channel depth
 Threshold voltage is increased
 Drain current is reduced
 The body effect can cause the performance
degradation.
Temperature effects and breakdown region

 Drain current will decrease when the

temperature increase. W
i D  2 k n ' （ v GS  V t ) 2
1

 Breakdown L
 Avalanche breakdown
 Punched-through
 Gate oxide breakdown
MOSFET amplifier: DC analysis
1. Assuming device operates in saturation thus iD
satisfies with iD~vGS equation.
2. According to biasing method, write voltage loop
equation.
3. Combining above two equations and solve these
equations.
4. Usually we can get two value of vGS, only the one of
two has physical meaning.
DC analysis
5. Checking the value of vDS
i. if vDS≥vGS-Vt, the assuming is correct.
ii. if vDS≤vGS-Vt, the assuming is not correct. We shall
use triode region equation to solve the problem
again.
Examples of DC analysis

The NMOS transistor is

operating in the saturation
region due to
Vt  2V V GD  V t
Examples of DC analysis

 Assuming the MOSFET operate in the saturation region

 Checking the validity of the assumption
 If not to be valid, solve the problem again for triode region
The MOSFET as an amplifier
Basic structure of the
common-source amplifier

Graph determining the

transfer characteristic
of the amplifier
The MOSFET as an amplifier and as a switch
 Transfer characteristic
showing operation as an
amplifier biased at point Q.
 Three segments:
vo  XA---the cutoff region
segment
Time
 AQB---the saturation
region segment
 BC---the triode region
segment

vI
vi

Time
Biasing in MOS amplifier circuits
 Voltage biasing scheme
 Biasing by fixing voltage
(constant VGS)
 Biasing with feedback
resistor
 Current-source biasing
scheme

Disadvantage of fixing biasing

Fixing biasing may result in large ID variability due to deviation
in device performance
Current becomes temperature dependent
-Unsuitable biasing method
Biasing in MOS with feedback resistor

 Biasing using a resistance in the source lead can reduce the

variability in ID
 Coupling of a signal source to the gate using a capacitor CC1
Biasing in MOS with current-source

Biasing the MOSFET using a Implementing a constant-current

constant-current source I source using a current mirror
Small-signal operation and models

 The ac characteristic
 Definition of transconductance
 Definition of output resistance
 Definition of voltage gain
 Small-signal model
 Hybrid π model
 T model
 Modeling the body effect
The conceptual circuit

 Conceptual circuit utilized to study

the operation of the MOSFET as a
small-signal amplifier.
 Small signal condition
v gs  2(VGS  V t )
The small-signal models

Without the channel-length With the channel-length

modulation effect modulation the effect by
iD W
including an output resistance
gm   k n ' V OV
 v GS L  v DS VA
v GS  V GS ro  
 iD ID
—transconductance
iD  I D
The small-signal models

The T model of the MOSFET An alternative representation

augmented with the drain-to- of the T model
source resistance ro
Modeling the body effect

Small-signal equivalent-circuit model of a MOSFET in

which the source is not connected to the body.
Single-stage MOS amplifier

 Characteristic parameters
 Three configurations
 Common-source configuration
 Common-drain configuration
 Common-gate configuration
Definitions

 Input resistance with no load vi

Ri 
vi ii R 

L
 Input resistance R in
ii
vo
 Open-circuit voltage gain A vo 
vi RL 
 Voltage gain vo
Av 
vi
Definitions
io
 Short-circuit current gain A is 
ii
i RL 0
 Current gain Ai  o
ii
io
 Short-circuit transconductance gain Gm 
vi RL 0
 Open-circuit overall voltage gain G  v0
vo
vsig
 Overall voltage gain G  v 0 RL  
v
v sig
 Output resistance vx
Rout 
ix v sig  0
Relationships
 Voltage divided coefficient
vi Rin Rin RL
 Gv  Avo
vsig Rin  Rsig Rin  Rsig RL  Ro
RL Ri
Av  Avo Gvo  Avo
RL  Ro Ri  Rsig
RL
Avo  Gm Ro Gv  Gvo
RL  Rout
 Hence the appropriate configuration should be
chosen according to the signal source and load
properties, such as source resistance, load resistance,
etc
Basic structure of the circuit

Basic structure of the circuit

used to realize single-stage
discrete-circuit MOS
amplifier configurations.
The common-source amplifier
 The simplest common-source
amplifier biased with constant-
current source.
 CC1 And CC2 are coupling
capacitors.
 CS is the bypass capacitor.
Equivalent circuit of the CS amplifier
Equivalent circuit of the CS amplifier

Small-signal analysis performed directly on the amplifier circuit

with the MOSFET model implicitly utilized.
Characteristics of CS amplifier
 Input resistance Rin  RG
 Voltage gain Av   g m (ro // RD // RL )
 Overall voltage gain G   RG
g m ( RD // RL // ro )
v
RG  Rsig
 Output resistance
Rout  ro // RD
 Summary of CS amplifier
- Very high input resistance
- Moderately high voltage gain
- Relatively high output resistance
The CS amplifier with a source resistance
 Small-signal equivalent circuit with ro neglected
 Voltage gain
g m ( R D // R L )
Av  
1  g m RS
 Overall voltage gain
RG g m ( RD // RL )
Gv  
RG  Rsig 1  g m RS

 RS takes the effect of

negative feedback
 Gain is reduction by
(1+gmRS)
The Common-Gate amplifier

Biasing with constant

current source I
Input signal vsig is
applied to the source
Output is taken at the
drain
Gate is signal grounded
CC1 and CC2 are coupling
capacitors
The CG amplifier

 A small-signal equivalent
circuit
 T model is used in
preference to the π model
 Ro is neglecting
The CG amplifier fed with a current-signal input
 Voltage gain
Av  g m ( R D // R L )
 Overall voltage gain
g m ( RD // RL )
Gv 
1  g m Rsig
Summary of CG amplifier
 Noninverting amplifier
 Low input resistance
 Relatively high output resistance
 Current follower
 Superior high-frequency performance
The common-drain or source-follower amplifier

Biasing with current source

Input signal is applied to gate, output signal is taken at the source
The CD or source-follower amplifier

 Small-signal equivalent-
circuit model
 T model makes analysis
simpler
 Drain is signal grounded

Overall voltage gain

RG ro // RL
Gv  1
RG  Rsig r // R  1
o L
gm
Circuit for determining the output resistance
Summary of CD or source-follow amplifier

 Very high input resistance

 Voltage gain is less than but close to unity
 Relatively low output resistance
 Voltage buffer amplifier
 Power amplifier
Summary and comparisons

 The CS amplifier is the best suited for obtaining the

bulk of gain required in an amplifier.
 Including resistance RS in the source lead of CS
amplifier provides a number of improvements in its
performance.
 The low input resistance of CG amplifier makes it useful
only in specific application. It has excellent high-
frequency response. It can be used as a current buffer.
 Source follower finds application as a voltage buffer and
as the output stage in a multistage amplifier.
The internal capacitance and high-frequency model

 Internal capacitances
 The gate capacitive effect
 Triode region
 Saturation region
 Cutoff region
 Overlap capacitance
 The junction capacitances
 Source-body depletion-layer capacitance
 drain-body depletion-layer capacitance
 High-frequency model
The gate capacitive effect
 MOSFET operates at triode region
Cgs  Cgd  12 WLCox
 MOSFET operates at saturation region
Cgs  23 WLCox

Cgd  0
 MOSFET operates at cutoff region
Cgs  Cgd  0

Cgb  WLCox
Overlap capacitance
 Overlap capacitance results from the fact that the source and
drain diffusions extend slightly under the gate oxide.
 The expression for overlap capacitance Cov  WLov Cox
 Typical value Lov  0.05 0.1L
 This additional
component should be
added to Cgs and Cgd in all
preceding formulas
The junction capacitances
 Source-body depletion-layer capacitance
C
C sb  sb 0

V SB
1＋
Vo
 drain-body depletion-layer capacitance
C
C db  db 0

V DB
1＋
Vo
High-frequency model
High-frequency model

The equivalent circuit for the

case in which the source is
connected to the substrate
(body)

The equivalent circuit model with

Cdb neglected (to simplify analysis)
The MOSFET unity-gain frequency

 Current gain
Io gm

I i s (C gs  C gd )

 Unity-gain frequency
gm
fT 
2 (C gs  C gd )
The depletion-type MOSFET
Physical structure
 The structure of depletion-type MOSFET is similar
to that of enhancement-type MOSFET with one
important difference: the depletion-type MOSFET
has a physically implanted channel
 There is no need to
induce a channel
 The depletion MOSFET
can be operated at both
enhancement mode and
depletion mode
Circuit symbol for the n-channel depletion-MOS

Circuit symbol for the n- Simplified circuit symbol applicable

channel depletion-type for the case the substrate (B) is
MOSFET connected to the source (S).
Characteristic curves

 Expression of characteristic equation

W
iD  1
2 k n ' （ v GS  V t ) 2
L
 Drain current with vGS  0

W 2 the iD–vGS characteristic

I DSS  k n ' Vt
1
2
L in saturation
The iD–vGS characteristic in saturation

Sketches of the iD–vGS characteristics for MOSFETs of enhancement and

depletion types
The characteristic curves intersect the vGS axis at Vt.
The output characteristic curves
The junction FET
D
Depletion
layer

N-channel
G D
P+
P
+

n-type
Semiconductor S

S
Physical operation under vDS=0

D D D

P+ P + P+ P+ P+ P+
G G G

S S S

UGS = 0 UGS < 0 UGS = UGS(off)

The effect of UDS on ID for UGS(off) <UGS < 0