Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

What Is a P-Channel MOSFET?

A P-channel MOSFET is a type of transistor, an electronic device that acts as a switch or amplifier for electric current. MOSFET refers to the transistor's type and the materials that give it its properties. They are more voltage-sensitive and energy-efficient than their cousins, the junction transistors. Because they make good switches, MOSFETs have benefited digital technologies, including computers, cell phones and many other related consumer goods.

Description
- A MOSFET is an electronic component having three terminals, called source, gate and drain. Physically, individual MOSFETs come packaged like other types of transistors, having standard case styles such as the TO-3 or TO-92. Discrete transistors such as these are between roughly one-quarter to 1 1/2 inches in size. The case itself makes up most of the device̵7;s size, protecting the tiny MOSFET inside from dirt and damage and allowing it to dissipate heat. On a computer chip, each MOSFET is one of millions of microscopic devices sharing a common slice of silicon.
MOSFET
- MOSFET is an acronym for "metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor." Most current MOSFETs use silicon, though early examples had metal oxide components. In a field-effect transistor, a tiny electric field surrounding the gate electrode affects electrical conduction between the source and drain electrodes. This is in contrast to the junction transistor, which exploits current flow in a sandwich of three layers of specially treated silicon. Though both kinds of transistors act as switches, the field-effect in a MOSFET operates faster than a junction transistor and consumes less current.
P-Channel
- MOSFETs come in two basic types: P-channel and N-channel. The two types have a different voltage polarity, which is similar to the polarity difference between PNP and NPN junction transistors. A circuit using a P-channel MOSFET has drain voltage lower than that at the source; the situation is reversed in an N-channel MOSFET circuit. In an N-channel device, electrons flow from source to drain, and in a P-type, holes, or charge groups missing electrons, flow from source to drain.
Uses
- The high switching speed and low power consumption of MOSFETs makes them ideal components for logic gates, memory circuits and other computer-related applications. The great strides in the capability of high-tech devices since the 1970s has depended on the increasing miniaturization of MOSFETs, packing more sophistication into each computer chip. In addition to advances in computers, the use of MOSFETs has improved the quality and energy efficiency of electronic power supplies and audio amplifiers.

Other Hobbies