MOSFET

What is the general effect of lowering a MOSFET's threshold voltage?

  1. ADrive current increases, but off-state leakage also increases
  2. BBoth drive current and leakage decrease
  3. CNothing changes
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Answer: A. Drive current increases, but off-state leakage also increases

Lowering the threshold voltage increases the effective gate drive at the same supply voltage, so on-current increases. At the same time, off-state leakage increases exponentially because of the subthreshold characteristics. This is why transistors with different threshold voltages are used for high speed and for low leakage.

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More MOSFET questions

  1. How are the transistors connected in a CMOS two-input NAND gate?
  2. Which phenomenon increases off-state leakage because band-to-band tunneling current flows due to the strong field where the gate overlaps the drain?
  3. What circuit advantage results from almost no current flowing into the gate of a MOSFET?
  4. Which is a characteristic of a MOSFET source follower (common-drain) circuit?
  5. How does the absolute value of a MOSFET's threshold voltage generally change as temperature rises?