Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET)

The IGFET or MOSFET is a voltage controlled field effect transistor that differs from a JFET in that it has a “Metal Oxide” Gate electrode which is electrically insulated from the main semiconductor n-channel or p-channel by a very thin layer of insulating material usually silicon dioxide, commonly known as glass. This ultra thin insulated metal gate electrode can be thought of as one plate of a capacitor. The isolation of the controlling Gate makes the input resistance of the MOSFET extremely high way up in the Mega-ohms (MΩ) region thereby making it almost infinite. As the Gate terminal is isolated from the main current carrying channel “NO current flows into the gate” and just like the JFET, the MOSFET also acts like a voltage controlled resistor were the current flowing through the main channel between the Drain and Source is proportional to the input voltage. Also like the JFET, the MOSFETs very high input resistance can easily accumulate large amounts of static charge resulting in the MOSFET becoming easily damaged unless carefully handled or protected.