Since MOSFETs can be made with either p-type or n-type semiconductors, complementary pairs of MOS transistors can be used to make switching circuits with very low power consumption, in the form of CMOS logic.Ī cross-section through an nMOSFET when the gate voltage V GS is below the threshold for making a conductive channel there is little or no conduction between the terminals drain and source the switch is off. The MOSFET is by far the most common transistor in digital circuits, as billions may be included in a memory chip or microprocessor. Similarly, 'oxide' in the name can also be a misnomer, as different dielectric materials are used with the aim of obtaining strong channels with smaller applied voltages. The 'metal' in the name MOSFET is sometimes a misnomer, because the gate material can be a layer of polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon). In depletion mode transistors, voltage applied at the gate reduces the conductivity.

In an enhancement mode MOSFET, voltage applied to the gate terminal increases the conductivity of the device. The main advantage of a MOSFET is that it requires almost no input current to control the load current, when compared with bipolar transistors (bipolar junction transistors/BJTs). The basic principle of the field-effect transistor was first patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925. Another synonym is IGFET for insulated-gate field-effect transistor. A metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MISFET) is a term almost synonymous with MOSFET. This ability to change conductivity with the amount of applied voltage can be used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which determines the conductivity of the device. The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor ( MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. Operating as switches, each of these components can sustain a blocking voltage of 120 V in the off state, and can conduct a continuous current of 30 A in the on state, dissipating up to about 100 W and controlling a load of over 2000 W. Type of field-effect transistor Two power MOSFETs in D2PAK surface-mount packages.

Transistor gate charge