Well, if ya wanna know ’bout them MOSFET equations, I reckon I can help ya out a bit. Now, a MOSFET, that’s short for Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor, ain’t no easy thing to wrap your head ’round, but don’t worry, we’ll break it down nice and slow. It’s like them old tractors back on the farm, they got their own way of working, and once you understand the basics, it’s all pretty clear.

First thing to know is there’s different regions in how the MOSFET works. These regions affect the current flow, and the equations that govern it. Now, you’ve got three main regions: cutoff, linear, and saturation. Let me tell ya a little more ’bout each one of ’em.
Cutoff Region:
Now, the cutoff region is when the MOSFET ain’t really doing much. It’s like when you turn off the water tap, nothing flows. This happens when the gate-to-source voltage (Vgs) is less than the threshold voltage (Vth). So, basically, the MOSFET ain’t conducting, and the drain current (Id) is almost zero. Ya can think of it like this: no voltage at the gate, no current flowing through the channel. Simple as that.
Linear Region:
Next up, we got the linear region. This is when the MOSFET starts to behave like a resistor, y’know, allowing current to flow through, but it ain’t fully on yet. The drain current (Id) here is controlled by both the gate-to-source voltage (Vgs) and the drain-to-source voltage (Vds). And the equation for this region goes something like this:

Id = K[(Vgs – Vth) Vds – Vds^2 / 2]
Now, don’t go gettin’ all confused with them letters. K is just a constant that depends on the size of the MOSFET, y’know, the width and length of the channel. Vgs is the voltage between the gate and the source, and Vth is that threshold voltage we talked about. When the drain-to-source voltage (Vds) is small, the current increases linearly with it. It’s like turnin’ up the spigot just a little bit and the water starts flowin’ through faster.
Saturation Region:
Finally, we get to the saturation region, which is when the MOSFET is fully on, like when you open the tap wide open. In this region, the drain current (Id) is no longer dependent on Vds, but it does depend on Vgs. The equation for this region looks like this:
Id = K (Vgs – Vth)^2

What this means is that once Vds gets bigger than the saturation voltage (Vdsat), the current doesn’t change much with Vds. It just stays steady, like water flowing through a pipe once it’s fully open. Vgs, though, still has an effect on the current. The bigger the Vgs, the more current flows. And the saturation voltage Vdsat is calculated like this:
Vdsat = Vgs – Vth
So, once you hit that point, it’s like the faucet’s been opened all the way, and the current stays steady no matter how much more you turn the handle.
But now, don’t go thinking this is all there is to it. MOSFETs are tricky little devils, and they got more going on. You also got to think about temperature effects, and how the channel length and width affect things. And, there’s also something called the thermal voltage, denoted by φt, which is important in the equations too. It’s related to temperature and is given by:
φt = kT / q

Where k is Boltzmann’s constant, T is the temperature in Kelvin, and q is the charge of an electron. It’s one of them things that adjusts the current depending on how hot or cold things get. Just like how your old barn gets a little colder in the winter, and that affects how things work inside, MOSFETs react to temperature too.
Now, if you’re gonna design a circuit with MOSFETs, you gotta be real careful with these equations. They help you understand how the MOSFET behaves in different situations. You gotta figure out what kind of current you need, and then adjust the gate voltage to get the right result. And that’s where them constants like K come in handy—they let ya tune the MOSFET for the job you need it to do.
- Vgs: Gate-to-source voltage
- Vds: Drain-to-source voltage
- Vth: Threshold voltage
- K: Constant, depending on MOSFET size and material
- Id: Drain current
So, in the end, when you’re playin’ with MOSFETs, ya gotta remember that it’s all ’bout controlling the flow of current through that channel. By adjusting the gate voltage, you can make the MOSFET switch on and off or control the current that flows through. Just like turnin’ the faucet on and off to control how much water flows into the field. It’s all about balance, y’know?
Hope that helps ya understand them MOSFET equations a little better. It’s not the easiest thing in the world, but once you get a handle on it, it ain’t so bad. Now, go on and play around with them equations yourself, and see what you can come up with!
Tags:[MOSFET, equations, cutoff region, linear region, saturation region, Vgs, Vds, threshold voltage, drain current, temperature effects, electrical engineering, physics]
