UNIT-V

Digital Circuits

MOS Logic family

Dr. PAVANKUMAR BIKKI

Fundamental concepts of Digital Circuits
INTRODUCTION to MOSFET
Why MOSFET?
BJT vs MOSFET
➢The BJT is a bipolar junction transistor whereas MOSFET is a
metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor.
➢A BJT has three terminals namely base, emitter, and collector,
while a MOSFET has three terminals namely source, drain, and
gate.
➢BJT’s are used for low current applications, whereas MOSFET
is used for high power applications.
➢Nowadays, in analog and digital circuits, MOSFETs are treated to
be more commonly used than BJTS.
➢The working of BJT depends on the current at the base terminal
and the working of the MOSFET depends on the voltage at the
oxide insulated gate electrode.
 BJT vs MOSFET

• The BJT is a current controlled device and MOSFET is a voltage-controlled

device.
• The structure of the MOSFET is more complex than BJT
Which is better?
➢Both MOSFET and BJT have unique characteristics and their own
pros and cons.
➢Unfortunately, we cannot say which is “better” because the
matter is highly subjective.
➢There is not a straightforward and definitive answer to this
question.
➢When choosing which to use in a project, one must consider
many different factors to arrive at a decision.
➢These include power level,
➢drive voltage,
➢efficiency,
➢cost, and switching speed.
Conti…
• Generally, A MOSFET is usually more efficient in power supplies.
• In a battery-powered device where the load is variable and power supply is
limited, for example, using a BJT would be a bad idea.
 The Start of the Modern Electronics Era
It can be said that the invention of the transistor and the
subsequent development of the microelectronics have done more
to shape the modern era than any other invention.

William Shockley, John Bardeen The transistor was successfully

and walter Brattain at Bell Labs - demonstrated on December 23,
Brattain and Bardeen invented 1947 at Bell Laboratories in
the bipolar transistor in 1947. Murray Hill, New Jersey
 Electronics Milestones
1874 Braun invents the solid-state 1961 First commercial IC from
rectifier Fairchild Semiconductor
1906 DeForest invents triode 1968 First commercial IC op-amp
vacuum tube.
1970 One transistor DRAM cell
1907-1927 First radio circuits invented by Dennard at IBM.
developed from diodes and
1971 4004 Intel microprocessor
triodes.
introduced.
1925 Lilienfeld field-effect device
1978 First commercial 1-kilobit
patent filed.
memory.
1947 Bardeen and Brattain at Bell
1974 8080 microprocessor
Laboratories invent bipolar
introduced.
transistors.
1984 Megabit memory chip
1952 Commercial bipolar transistor
introduced.
production at Texas
Instruments. 1995 Gigabite memory chip
presented.
1956 Bardeen, Brattain, and
Shockley receive Nobel prize.
 Evolution of Electronic Devices

Vacuum Discrete
Tubes Transistors

SSI and MSI

Integrated VLSI
Circuits Circuits
Rapid Increase in Density of
Microelectronics

Memory chip density Microprocessor complexity

versus time. versus time.
Device Feature Size
• Feature size reductions enabled by
process innovations.

• Smaller features lead to more

transistors per unit area and therefore
higher density.

• SSI – small scale integration (< 102)

• MSI – medium SI (102- 103)

• LSI – large SI (103- 104)

• VLSI – very large SI (104- 109)

• ULSI & GSI– ultra large SI & giga-scale

integration (> 109)
Structure and operation of the MOS
transistor
Introduction
➢So far, we have viewed a MOS transistor as an ideal switch (digital
operation)
– Reality: less than ideal
MOS Transistor Theory
➢An ON transistor passes a finite amount of current
▪ Depends on terminal voltages
▪ Derive current-voltage (I-V) relationships
➢Transistor gate, source, drain all have capacitance
▪ I = C (ΔV/ Δt) --> Δt = (C/I) ΔV
▪ Capacitance and current determine speed
MOS Transistor Theory
• Study conducting channel between source and drain
• Modulated by voltage applied to the gate (voltage controlled device)
• nMOS transistor: majority carriers are electrons (greater mobility), p-
substrate doped (positively doped)
• pMOS transistor: majority carriers are holes (less mobility), n-
substrate (negatively doped)
MOS Transistor Theory
MOS Transistor Theory

➢Mode of operation depends on Vg, Vd, Vs

– Vgs = Vg – Vs
– Vgd = Vg – Vd
– Vds = Vd – Vs = Vgs - Vgd
➢ Source and drain are symmetric diffusion terminals
– By convention, source is terminal at lower voltage
– Hence Vds ≥ 0
➢ nMOS body is grounded. First assume source is 0 too.
➢Three regions of operation
– Cutoff
– Linear
MOS Transistor Switches
MOS Transistor Switches
Gate Biasing
➢ Vgs = 0: no current flows from
source to drain.

➢ Vgs > 0: electric field created

across substrate.

➢ Electrons accumulate under gate:

region changes from p-type to n-
type.

➢ Conduction path between source

and drain.
Reading

1.Sung-Mo Kang, Yusuf Leblebici Chulwoo kim, Digital Integrated Circuits: Analysis and
Design , 4th Edition, McGraw Hill Education, 2016.

2.Behzad Razavi, Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill
Education, 2016.

3.Jan M RABAEY, Digital Integrated Circuits, 2nd Edition, Pearson Education, 2003.

4.Neil H.E. Weste and David Harris, CMOS VLSI Design: A circuits and systems
perspective, 4th Edition, Pearson Education, 2015.
MOS Transistor Theory
➢The MOS transistor is a majority-carrier device in which the
current in a conducting channel between the source and drain is
controlled by a voltage applied to the gate.
➢In an nMOS transistor, the majority carriers are electrons; in
a pMOS transistor, the majority carriers are holes.
➢The behavior of MOS transistors can be understood by first
examining an isolated MOS structure with a gate and body but
no source or drain.
➢The top layer of the structure is a good conductor called the
gate.
➢The middle layer is a very thin insulating film of SiO2, called
the gate oxide.
➢The bottom layer is the doped silicon body.
 MOS Transistor Theory
Inversion

➢Enhancement-mode transistor: Conducts when gate bias Vgs > Vt

➢Depletion-mode transistor: Conducts when gate bias is zero

MOS Transistor Theory
➢The gate oxide is a good insulator so almost zero current flows from
the gate to the body.
➢In Figure (a), a negative voltage is applied to the gate, so there is
negative charge on the gate. The mobile positively charged holes are
attracted to the region beneath the gate. This is called the
accumulation mode.
➢In Figure (b), a small positive voltage is applied to the gate, resulting
in some positive charge on the gate.
➢The holes in the body are repelled from the region directly beneath
the gate, resulting in a depletion region forming below the gate.
➢In Figure (c), a higher positive potential exceeding a critical threshold
voltage V, is applied, attracting more positive charge to the gate.
➢The holes are repelled further and some free electrons in the body are
attracted to the region beneath the gate.
➢This conductive layer of electrons in the p-type body is called the
inversion layer.
➢The threshold voltage depends on the number of dopants in the body
and the thickness 𝑡𝑜𝑥 of the oxide.
NMOS Cutoff
➢The gate-to-source voltage is less than the threshold voltage.
The source and drain have free electrons. The body has holes
but no free electrons.
➢The junctions between the body and the source or drain are
reverse-biased almost zero current flows. This mode of
operation is called cutoff.

➢ No channel

➢ 𝑰𝒅𝒔 = 0
MOS Transistor Theory
➢When 𝑽𝒈𝒔 > 𝑽𝒕 an inversion region of electrons (majority
carriers) called the channel connects the source and drain,
creating a conductive path and turning the Transistor ON.
➢The number of carriers and the conductivity increases with the
gate voltage.
➢The potential difference between drain and source is 𝑉𝑑𝑠 =
𝑉𝑔𝑠 − 𝑉𝑔𝑑 . If 𝑉𝑑𝑠 = 0 i.e (𝑉𝑔𝑠 = 𝑉𝑔𝑑 ), there is no electric field
tending to push current from drain to source.
➢When small positive voltage 𝑉𝑑𝑠 > 0 is applied to the drain,
current 𝐼𝑑𝑠 flows through the channel from drain to source.
➢This mode of operation termed linear, resistive, triode, non
saturated, or unsaturated.
➢The current increases with both the drain voltage and gate
voltage.
 NMOS Linear

➢Channel formed

➢Electrons from s to d

➢Current flows from d to s

➢𝑰𝒅𝒔 increases with 𝑽𝒅𝒔

➢Similar to linear resistor

I-V Characteristics
 MOS Transistor Theory
➢If 𝑉𝑑𝑠 becomes sufficiently large that 𝑉𝑔𝑑 < 𝑉𝑡 , the channel is no longer inverted near
the drain and becomes pinched off.

➢However, conduction is still brought about by the drift of electrons under the influence
of the positive drain voltage.

➢As electrons reach the end of the channel, they are injected into the depletion region
near the drain and accelerated toward the drain.

➢Above this drain voltage the current 𝐼𝑑𝑠 is controlled only by the gate voltage and
ceases to be influenced by the drain. This mode is called saturation.
NMOS Saturation

➢Channel pinches off

➢𝑰𝒅𝒔 independent of 𝑽𝒅𝒔

➢We say current saturates

➢Similar to current source

I-V Characteristics
 Summary: MOS Transistor Theory
➢The NMOS transistor has three modes of operation.

➢If 𝑉𝑔𝑠 < 𝑉𝑡 , the transistor is cutoff (OFF).

➢If 𝑉𝑔𝑠 > 𝑉𝑡 , the transistor turns ON. If 𝑉𝑑𝑠 is small, the transistor acts as a
linear resistor in which the current flow is pro-portional to 𝑉𝑑𝑠 .

➢ If 𝑉𝑔𝑠 > 𝑉𝑡 , and 𝑉𝑑𝑠 is large, the transistor acts as a current source in which
the current flow becomes independent of 𝑉𝑑𝑠 .
 PMOS Transistor Theory
➢The PMOS transistor in operates in just the opposite fashion. The n-type body is
tied to a high potential so the junctions with the p-type source and drain are normally
reverse-biased.

➢When the gate is also at a high potential, no current flows between drain and source.

➢When the gate voltage is lowered by a threshold 𝑉𝑡 , holes are attracted to form a
p-type channel immediately beneath the gate, allowing current to flow between
drain and source.

➢The threshold voltages of the two types of transistors are not necessarily equal, so
we use the terms 𝑉𝑡𝑛 and 𝑉𝑡𝑝 , to distinguish the NMOS and PMOS thresholds.
PMOS transistor
DC Transfer Curve

Fig. CMOS Inverter

Fig. Vin vs. Vout plot
Operating Regions
 Operating Regions
More rise/fall timemore short circuit
Lower threshold voltagemore short
Condition PMOS NMOS
circuit
Vdd- |Vthp|
Vin < Vth ON (sat) OFF (cutoff) 2.5V

Linear Linear
Vin = Vth (towards (towards Vout Vthn<Vin<Vdd-|Vthp|
cutoff) sat)

Vin > Vth OFF (cutoff) ON (sat)

0V Vthn
Vin 2.5V