12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

The
MOSFET
HowtheMOSFETworks
Home

AMOSFETisatransistor.ItisaMetalOxideFieldEffectTransistor.
HerearethesymbolsforFETsandMOSFETs:

HereisananimationshowinghowtoturnonanNchannelMOSFET:

MOSFETturnsONwhengatetosource
ismorethanabout2v(2vto5v)
TheeasiestwaytounderstandhowMOSFETsworkistocomparethemwithPNPandNPN
transistorsandshowtheminsimilarcircuits.TheadvantageofaMOSFETisthis:Itrequires
verylittlecurrent(almostzerocurrent)intothegatetoturnitONanditcandeliver10to50
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

1/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

ampsormoretoaload.

THEBASE
TheBASE(theinputlead)ofanormaltransistoristheGATEforaMOSFET.
AMOSFETcanbeusedinplaceofanordinarytransistor(calledabipolarjunctiontransistor,
orBJT)providingoneslightdifferenceistakenintoaccount.
AnordinaryNPNtransistorwillturnONwhenthebasevoltageisabout0.65vmorethanthe
emitterbutaMOSFETneedsthegateterminaltobeatleast2vto5v,(dependingonthetype
ofMOSFET)abovethesourcevoltage.
ThisiscalledtheGATEVOLTAGEandtheexactvalueisdifficultytoextractfromsomedata
sheets.
That'swhyyouneedtoknowthevaluebeforeusingaFETorMOSFET.
Deliveringahighervoltage(upto12v)willnotdamagethedeviceorcausemoregatecurrent
toflowbutsupplyingaminimumvoltagewillalterthecurrentcapabilityenormously.Youmust
notuseaMOSFETifyoucanonlyjustdelivertheminimumgatevoltageastheMOSFETwill
actlikeahighpowerresistorandgetveryHOT.
WhenaMOSFETisusedinahighcurrentsituation,itisimportanttoprovideafastrisetime
tothegatesotheFETturnsonquicklyanddoesnotheatup.
Ifyouhaveacircuitwithafastrisetimevoltageintheorderof2vto10v,aFETdeviceisa
goodsolution.
YoucanfindtheGATEVOLTAGEbybuildingthecircuitandtestingtheMOSFET.
Connecta100kpottoa12vsupplyandtakethewipertothegateterminal.
GraduallyincreasethevoltagebyturningthepotandmeasurethevoltageacrosstheLOAD.
Whenthevoltageisequaltofullrailvoltage,theFETisfullyturnedON.Performthis
operationasfastasyoucantopreventtheFETheatingup.HoldyourfingerontheFETand
reducethevoltageslightlyuntiltheFETstartstowarmup.Measurethevoltageonthegate
withadigitalmeter.NowincreasethevoltagesotheFETremainscold.Measurethevoltage.
Younowhavetherequiredgatevoltageforthedeviceandaminimumvoltage(thegatevoltage
mustbeabovetheminimumvoltage).
HereisacomparisonbetweenanNPNtransistorandNchannelMOSFET:

AzenermustbeaddedtothegateofaMOSFETifthegatevoltagecomesfromasupplythat
isabove20v.
Anormaltransistorisacurrentamplifyingdevice.
Foraloadcurrentof100mA,thebasecurrentforaBC547willneedtobeabout1mA.
Thismeansithasacurrentgainofabout100.
AMOSFETisavoltagecontrolleddeviceandthecurrentitwillhandledependsonits
physicalsizeandthewayitisconstructed.Youcannotchangethisparameter.
Foraloadcurrentuptoabout35Amp,thegatecurrentforaIRZ40willbelessthan0.25mA.
Whenthegatevoltageis3vto4vhigherthanthesource,itturnsonandtheresistance
betweensourceanddrainterminalsisabout0.028ohms.Itwillhandleupto35amps.
TheloaddeterminesthecurrentthroughtheMOSFET(nottheMOSFET)andifitislessthan
35amps,aIRFZ40issuitablefortheapplication.

ComparisonbetweenaPNPtransistorandPchannelMOSFET:

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

2/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

Whenthegatevoltageis4vLOWERthanrailvoltage,theMOSFETturnsON.The10k
resistoronthebaseofthetransistorisneededtopreventthebasecurrentexceedingthe
amountofcurrentneededbythetransistortodelivercurrenttotheload.Howeverthe10k
resistoronthegateoftheMOSFETisnotneeded.Providingthevoltage(upto18v)onthe
gaterisesandfallsquickly,theMOSFETwillnotgethot.Thecriticalperiodoftimeisthe0v
to3vsectionofthewaveformasthisiswhentheMOSFETisturningon.

PUSHPULL
MOSFETscanbeplacedinpushpullmode,justlikePNPandNPNtransistors.
Theymustbeconnectedcorrectlytopreventdamage.
InthefollowingcircuityoucanseethetransistorsandMOSFETshavebeenconnected
incorrectly.
ForthePNP/NPNtransistorcircuit,astheinputchangesfromhightoloworlowtohigh,both
transistorsareturnedonduringthetransition.Onlyonetransistoristurnedonwhentheline
ishighandonlytheothertransistoristurnedonwhenthelineislow,butduringthetransition,
BOTHareturnedon.
ThesameapplieswiththeMOSFETs.Whentheinputisatmidrail,avoltagebetweengate
andsourcewillbeproducedforbothMOSFETs.SinceaMOSFETcanhandlemanyamps,
thiswillputashortcircuitacrossthepowerrailandwillcausealotofdamage.

TransistorsandMOSFETswillproduceshortcircuit
ThecorrectplacementfortheNPNandPNPtransistorsisshowninthediagrambelow.The
outputwillriseandfallinharmonywiththeinput,howevertherewillbeasmall1v2gapatmid
railwheretheoutputwillnotrespondasthisrepresents0.6vforthebaseemittervoltageof
eachtransistor.YoushouldnotconnecttwoMOSFETsasshownthegapwillbe6vasthe
gatetosourcevoltageforeachtransistorisabout3v,butyoucannotconnectthegatesofthe
twoMOSFETsbecauseeachMOSFETwillturnoffwhenthegatetosourcevoltageisless
thanabout3vacrossthesetwoterminal.Thismeanstheoutputwillbe3vlessthanrail
voltageandnotgobelow3vabove0vrail.BothMOSFETswillnotturnonduringanypartof
thecycleandnoshortcircuitwilloccur,buttheoutputwillbelessthanfullrailvoltageswing
andtheMOSFETsarenotbeingsuppliedwithagatetosourcevoltagethathasaguaranteed
fastriseandfalltime(andtheMOSFETsmayheatup).Thisisanunreliabledesign.
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

3/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

MOSFEToutputislessthanrailvoltage
Thesolutionisshowninthediagrambelow.ThetransistorconfigurationwillworkonANYrail
voltagebuttheMOSFET"totempoleconfiguration"willonlyworkupto5v.Thisisduetothe
characteristicsofaMOSFET.TheMOSFETsusedinthisarrangementhaveagatetosource
characteristicofslightlymorethan3vanddonotturnonwhenthevoltageacrossthesetwo
terminalsis3v.Thismeansthesupplycanbe6vandwhentheinputisatmidrail,3vwillbe
acrosseachgatetosourceandneitherwillbeturnedon.That'swhyTTLlogicislimitedto5v
operation.TheoutputwillbeextremelyclosetorailtorailfortheMOSFETconfiguration.

MaxvoltageforMOSFETarrangementis5v
Forasupplygreaterthan5v,adifferentMOSFETconfigurationmustbeusedtogetfullrailto
railoutput.TheMOSFETsmustbeturnedonindividually.

PUSHPULLUSINGMOSFETS
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

4/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

PUSHPULLUSINGMOSFETS
Thecircuitabovesinksupto35AviatheNchannelMOSFETanddeliversabout18Ampvia
thePchannelMOSFET.InputAmustrisequicklytopreventtheMOSFETheatingupduring
theturningonperiod.InputAmustrisetoatleast4vtoguaranteetheMOSFETturnsON.
InputBmustriseabove0.65vtoturnthetransistorON.Thevoltageonthecollectorofthe
transistorwillfallandthiswillprovideagatetosourcevoltageforthePchannelMOSFET.
BothinputsmustnotbeHIGHatthesametimeasthiswillturnONbothMOSFETsand
createashortcircuitonthepowerrail.

Thecircuitaboveismuchmorecomplexthanmeetstheeye.
ToturnonthetopNchannelMOSFET,thegatemustbetakenatleast3vhigherthanthe
sourcebecauseitisaSOURCEFOLLOWER(similartoanEMITTERFOLLOWER).Thisis
equaltoVin+3v.
HowdoespinHGgetthishighvoltage?
Itgetsitfromavoltagedoublingcircuitmadeupofthe0.33u,highspeeddiodeD1andan
oscillatorinthechip.
Thecircuitisabuckconverterandwillreduceanysupplyvoltagetoalowervoltagewithvery
highefficiency.Itallowsasmall"packetofenergy"toflowtotheVoutterminalviatheinductor
L1andthispercentagedeterminestheVoutvoltage.
HereisanaudioamplifierusingPUSHPULLmodetodriveaspeaker:

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

5/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

ThetoptwotransistorsareinpushpullmodetoturnthePchannelMOSFETonandoffvery
quickly.TheyspeeduptheincomingwaveformandpreventtheMOSFETgeneratingheat
duringtheturningonprocess.
Thetwolowertransistorsdothesamething.
Thediodesandresistorsconnectedtotheinputformavoltagedividertocorrectlybiasthe
pushpulltransistors.

HBRIDGE
AnHBridgecanbedesignedusingMOSFETs:

InputAHIGH,InputDHIGHforwardrotation
InputBHIGH,InputCHIGHreverserotation
InputAHIGH,InputBHIGHnotallowed
InputCHIGH,InputDHIGHnotallowed
TheHBridgecanbedesignedwithtwomoretransistorssothatonlytwoinputlinesare
needed.
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

6/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

PWMMOTORSPEEDCONTROLLER
Hereisacircuitfroma12vdrill.TheMOSFETwilldeliverupto30Amps.
Thefrequencyoftheoscillatorisintherange550Hztoabout6.5kHz,withanoffperiodof
about2.6us.

PWM12vCORDLESSDRILLMOTORCONTROLLER

3LEDCHASER
Thiscircuitlet'syouseehowaFETturnsonandhowitworks.
RemovetheconnectionstothegateofthefirstFETandtheLEDwillstarttoilluminate.
ThegatewillstarttogetachargeonitandtheFETwillturnon.
Placea1Mbetweengateand0vandtheFETwillturnoff.
Thisshowsthesensitivityofthegate.ThechargeonthegatemustberemovedfortheFETto
turnOFF.
ThiscircuitwillshowhowtheFETturnsONslowlyasthevoltageonthegateincreasesand
turnsOFFslowlyasthevoltagedrops:

WHYMOSFETsFAIL
Therearequiteafewpossiblecausesfordevicefailures,hereareafewofthemostimportant
reasons:
Overvoltage:
MOSFETshaveverylittletolerancetoovervoltage.Damagetodevicesmayresulteven
ifthevoltageratingisexceededforaslittleasafewnanoseconds.MOSFETdevices
shouldberatedconservativelyfortheanticipatedvoltagelevelsandcarefulattention
shouldbepaidtosuppressinganyvoltagespikesorringing.
Prolongedcurrentoverload:
HighaveragecurrentcausesconsiderablethermaldissipationinMOSFETdevices
eventhoughtheonresistanceisrelativelylow.Ifthecurrentisveryhighand
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

7/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

heatsinkingispoor,thedevicecanbedestroyedbyexcessivetemperaturerise.
MOSFETdevicescanbeparalleleddirectlytosharehighloadcurrents.
Transientcurrentoverload:
Massivecurrentoverload,evenforshortduration,cancauseprogressivedamagetothe
devicewithlittlenoticeabletemperaturerisepriortofailure.
Shootthroughcrossconduction:
IfthecontrolsignalstotwoopposingMOSFETsoverlap,asituationcanoccurwhere
bothMOSFETsareswitchedontogether.Thiseffectivelyshortcircuitsthesupplyand
isknownasashootthroughcondition.Ifthisoccurs,thesupplydecouplingcapacitor
isdischargedrapidlythroughbothdeviceseverytimeaswitchingtransitionoccurs.
Thisresultsinveryshortbutincrediblyintensecurrentpulsesthroughbothswitching
devices.
Thechancesofshootthroughoccurringareminimisedbyallowingadeadtime
betweenswitchingtransitions,duringwhichneitherMOSFETisturnedon.Thisallows
timeforonedevicetoturnoffbeforetheoppositedeviceisturnedon.
Nofreewheelcurrentpath:
Whenswitchingcurrentthroughanyinductiveload(suchasaTeslaCoil)abackEMF
isproducedwhenthecurrentisturnedoff.Itisessentialtoprovideapathforthis
currenttofreewheelinthetimewhentheswitchingdeviceisnotconductingtheload
current.
Thiscurrentisusuallydirectedthroughafreewheeldiodeconnectedantiparallelwith
theswitchingdevice.WhenaMOSFETisemployedastheswitchingdevice,the
designergetsthefreewheeldiode"forfree"intheformoftheMOSFETsintrinsicbody
diode.Thissolvesoneproblem,butcreatesawholenewone...
SlowreverserecoveryofMOSFETbodydiode:
AhighQresonantcircuitsuchasaTeslaCoiliscapableofstoringconsiderable
energyinitsinductanceandselfcapacitance.Undercertaintuningconditions,this
causesthecurrentto"freewheel"throughtheinternalbodydiodesoftheMOSFET
device.Thisbehaviourisnotaprobleminitself,butaproblemarisesduetotheslow
turnoff(orreverserecovery)oftheinternalbodydiode.
MOSFETbodydiodesgenerallyhavealongreverserecoverytimecomparedtothe
performanceoftheMOSFETitself.
Thisproblemisusuallyeasedbytheadditionofahighspeed(fastrecovery)diode.
ThisensuresthattheMOSFETbodydiodeisneverdrivenintoconduction.Thefree
wheelcurrentishandledbythefastrecoverydiodewhichpresentslessofa"shoot
through"problem.
Excessivegatedrive:
IftheMOSFETgateisdrivenwithtoohighavoltage,thenthegateoxideinsulationcan
bepuncturedrenderingthedeviceuseless.Gatesourcevoltagesinexcessof+/15
voltsarelikelytocausedamagetothegateinsulationandleadtofailure.Careshould
betakentoensurethatthegatedrivesignalisfreefromanynarrowvoltagespikesthat
couldexceedthemaximumallowablegatevoltage.
Insufficientgatedriveincompleteturnon:
MOSFETdevicesareonlycapableofswitchinglargeamountsofpowerbecausethey
aredesignedtodissipateminimalpowerwhentheyareturnedon.Itisthe
responsibilityofthedesignertoensurethattheMOSFETdeviceisturnedhardonto
minimisedissipationduringconduction.Ifthedeviceisnotfullyturnedonthenthe
devicewillhaveahighresistanceduringconductionandwilldissipateconsiderable
powerasheat.Agatevoltageofbetween10and15voltsensuresfullturnonwithmost
MOSFETdevices.
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

8/10

12/27/2016

TheMOSFET

Slowswitchingtransitions:
Littleenergyisdissipatedduringthesteadyonandoffstates,butconsiderableenergy
isdissipatedduringthetimesofatransition.Thereforeitisdesirabletoswitchbetween
statesasquicklyaspossibletominimisepowerdissipationduringswitching.Since
theMOSFETgateappearscapacitive,itrequiresconsiderablecurrentpulsesinorder
tochargeanddischargethegateinafewtensofnanoseconds.Peakgatecurrents
canbeashighas1amp.
Spuriousoscillation:
MOSFETsarecapableofswitchinglargeamountsofcurrentinincrediblyshorttimes.
Theirinputsarealsorelativelyhighimpedance,whichcanleadtostabilityproblems.
UndercertainconditionshighvoltageMOSFETdevicescanoscillateatveryhigh
frequenciesduetostrayinductanceandcapacitanceinthesurroundingcircuit.
(FrequenciesusuallyinthelowMHz.)Thisbehaviourishighlyundesirablesinceit
occursduetolinearoperation,andrepresentsahighdissipationcondition.
Spuriousoscillationcanbepreventedbyminimisingstrayinductanceandcapacitance
aroundtheMOSFETs.Alowimpedancegatedrivecircuitshouldalsobeusedto
preventstraysignalsfromcouplingtothegateofthedevice.
The"Miller"effect:
MOSFETdeviceshaveconsiderable"Millercapacitance"betweentheirgateanddrain
terminals.Inlowvoltageorslowswitchingapplicationsthisgatedraincapacitanceis
rarelyaconcern,howeveritcancauseproblemswhenhighvoltagesareswitched
quickly.
Apotentialproblemoccurswhenthedrainvoltageofthebottomdevicerisesvery
quicklyduetoturnonofthetopMOSFET.Thishighrateofriseofvoltagecouples
capacitivelytothegateoftheMOSFETviatheMillercapacitance.Thiscancausethe
gatevoltageoftheMOSFETtoriseresultinginturnonofthisdeviceaswell!Ashoot
throughconditionexistsandMOSFETfailureiscertainifnotimmediate.
TheMillereffectcanbeminimisedbyusingalowimpedancegatedrivewhichclamps
thegatevoltageto0voltswhenintheoffstate.Thisreducestheeffectofanyspikes
coupledfromthedrain.Furtherprotectioncanbegainedbyapplyinganegativevoltage
tothegateduringtheoffstate.eg.applying10voltstothegatewouldrequireover12
voltsofnoiseinordertoriskturningonaMOSFETthatismeanttobeturnedoff!
Conductedinterferencewithcontroller:
Rapidswitchingoflargecurrentscancausevoltagedipsandtransientspikesonthe
powersupplyrails.Ifoneormoresupplyrailsarecommontothepowerandcontrol
electronics,theninterferencecanbeconductedtothecontrolcircuitry.
Gooddecoupling,andstarpointearthingaretechniqueswhichshouldbeemployedto
reducetheeffectsofconductedinterference.Theauthorhasalsofoundtransformer
couplingtodrivetheMOSFETsveryeffectiveatpreventingelectricalnoisefrombeing
conductedbacktothecontroller.
Staticelectricitydamage:
Antistatichandlingprecautionsshouldbeusedtopreventgateoxidedamagewhen
installingMOSFETorIGBTdevices.Butareveryreliableoncetheyaresolderedin
place.
TherearemanymorefactandcircuitsusingMOSFETsontheweb.Thisdiscussionisonlya
startingpoint.

30/7/2010

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

9/10

12/27/2016

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/MOSFET/MOSFET.html

TheMOSFET

10/10