MOSFET Current Voltage Characteristics

• Consider the cross-sectional • We assume the threshold

view of an n-channel MOSFET voltage is constant along the
operating in linear mode channel.
(picture below) • The channel voltage Vc has
VGS > VT0 VDS boundary conditions:
VS =0
+
- Vc at x=0=VS=0 and Vc at x=L=VDS
n+ Channel n+
• The channel is inverted from
Source Drain the source end to the drain end.
y
x=0 x x=L • Other voltages of interest are:
p-type substrate Depletion Region VGS≥VT0 and
VB =0 VGD=VGS-VDS≥VT0
 MOSFET Voltage Characteristics
• The channel current (drain
current ID) is caused by
electrons in the channel region
traveling from source to drain
under the influence of the
lateral electric field.
• If the total mobile electron
charge in the surface inversion
layer is assigned the vaiable
QI(x), we can thus express this
charge as a function of the gate-
to-source voltage VGS and the
channel voltage Vc(x)
• QI(x)=-Cox[VGS-Vc(x)-VT0]
• The thickness of the inversion
layer tapers along the channel
from the source towards the
drain because the influence of
Vgate-tochannel decreases from
source to drain.
• If we consider a small
incremental resistance dR for a
differential segment of the
channel assuming constant
electron mobility mn at the
surface we have: dR   dx
Wm n QI ( x )
 MOSFET Voltage Current Characteristic
• The variable W represents the
channel width.
• The electron surface mobility
mn depends on the doping
concentration of the channel
region.
• We further assume that the
channel current density is
uniform across the segment
where we are measuring the
incremental resistance.
• ID flows between the source and
drain.
• Applying Ohm’s law for this
segment yields the voltage drop
along the incremental segment
dx: dV  I dR   I dx D
Wm n QI ( x )
c D
• The above equation can now be
integrated along the channel
from x=0 to x=L using the
boundary conditions for Vc
• We get:
VGS  Vc  VT 0 dVc
VDS
I D L  Wm n Cox 
0
 MOSFET Voltage Current Characteristics

• Assuming that the channel • The drain current ID also

voltage Vc is the only variable depends on the device’s channel
that depends on position x, the length and width.
drain current is determined to
be:
mC W
 
I D  n ox 2VGS  VT 0 VDS  VDS2
2 L
• This equation shows the
dependence of the drain current
on the process parameters such
as oxide capacitance, carrier
mobility, and bulk to source
voltage.
 MOSFET Voltage Current
Characteristics
• The equations:
I  0 when V gs  Vt
ds
 2
 
V
I    V gs  Vt V  ds  for
ds  ds 2 
 

0  V  V gs  Vt equvalentl y VGS  VT 0 ; VGD  VGS  V DS  VT 0
ds

I 

V gs  Vt
2

for 0  V gs  Vt  V
ds 2 ds
represent a simple view of the MOS transistor DC Voltage current
equations.
• There are models that better calculate the MOS transistor’s operation
with accuracy.