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Body Effect: Circuit Symbols

The body effect describes how applying a reverse bias between the source and body of a MOSFET increases the threshold voltage. This is because the reverse bias splits the Fermi levels for electrons and holes, lowering the occupancy of the conduction channel and requiring a higher gate voltage to establish the channel. The body can act as a second gate, and applying a reverse bias is sometimes called applying a back-gate effect. Circuit symbols for MOSFETs generally show the source, drain, gate, and body connections. The orientation and features of the symbol indicate if it is n-type or p-type and enhancement or depletion mode.

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544 views

Body Effect: Circuit Symbols

The body effect describes how applying a reverse bias between the source and body of a MOSFET increases the threshold voltage. This is because the reverse bias splits the Fermi levels for electrons and holes, lowering the occupancy of the conduction channel and requiring a higher gate voltage to establish the channel. The body can act as a second gate, and applying a reverse bias is sometimes called applying a back-gate effect. Circuit symbols for MOSFETs generally show the source, drain, gate, and body connections. The orientation and features of the symbol indicate if it is n-type or p-type and enhancement or depletion mode.

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shohobi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Body effect[edit]

Band diagram showing body effect. VSB splits Fermi levels Fn for electrons and Fp for holes, requiring
larger VGB to populate the conduction band in an nMOS MOSFET

The occupancy of the energy bands in a semiconductor is set by the position of the Fermi
level relative to the semiconductor energy-band edges. Application of a source-to-substrate
reverse bias of the source-body pn-junction introduces a split between the Fermi levels for
electrons and holes, moving the Fermi level for the channel further from the band edge,
lowering the occupancy of the channel. The effect is to increase the gate voltage necessary
to establish the channel, as seen in the figure. This change in channel strength by
application of reverse bias is called the 'body effect'.
Simply put, using an nMOS example, the gate-to-body bias VGB positions the conduction-
band energy levels, while the source-to-body bias VSB positions the electron Fermi level near
the interface, deciding occupancy of these levels near the interface, and hence the strength
of the inversion layer or channel.
The body effect upon the channel can be described using a modification of the threshold
voltage, approximated by the following equation:
where VTB is the threshold voltage with substrate bias present, and VT0 is the zero-
VSB value of threshold voltage,  is the body effect parameter, and 2φB is the approximate
potential drop between surface and bulk across the depletion layer when VSB = 0 and
gate bias is sufficient to ensure that a channel is present. [100] As this equation shows, a
reverse bias VSB > 0 causes an increase in threshold voltage VTB and therefore demands
a larger gate voltage before the channel populates.
The body can be operated as a second gate, and is sometimes referred to as the "back
gate"; the body effect is sometimes called the "back-gate effect". [101]

Circuit symbols[edit]
A variety of symbols are used for the MOSFET. The basic design is generally a line for
the channel with the source and drain leaving it at right angles and then bending back at
right angles into the same direction as the channel. Sometimes three line segments are
used for enhancement mode and a solid line for depletion mode (see depletion and
enhancement modes). Another line is drawn parallel to the channel for the gate.
The bulk or body connection, if shown, is shown connected to the back of the channel
with an arrow indicating pMOS or nMOS. Arrows always point from P to N, so an NMOS
(N-channel in P-well or P-substrate) has the arrow pointing in (from the bulk to the
channel). If the bulk is connected to the source (as is generally the case with discrete
devices) it is sometimes angled to meet up with the source leaving the transistor. If the
bulk is not shown (as is often the case in IC design as they are generally common bulk)
an inversion symbol is sometimes used to indicate PMOS, alternatively an arrow on the
source may be used in the same way as for bipolar transistors (out for nMOS, in for
pMOS).
Comparison of enhancement-mode and depletion-mode MOSFET symbols, along
with JFET symbols. The orientation of the symbols, (most significantly the position of
source relative to drain) is such that more positive voltages appear higher on the page
than less positive voltages, implying current flowing "down" the page: [102][103][104]

P-
channe
l

N-
channe
l

MOSFET enh MOSFET dep
JFET MOSFET enh. (no bulk)
. .

In schematics where G, S, D are not labeled, the detailed features of the symbol indicate
which terminal is source and which is drain. For enhancement-mode and depletion-mode
MOSFET symbols (in columns two and five), the source terminal is the one connected to
the arrowhead. Additionally, in this diagram, the gate is shown as an "L" shape, whose
input leg is closer to S than D, also indicating which is which. However, these symbols
are often drawn with a "T" shaped gate (as elsewhere on this page), so it is the
arrowhead which must be relied upon to indicate the source terminal.
For the symbols in which the bulk, or body, terminal is shown, it is here shown internally
connected to the source (i.e., the black arrowhead in the diagrams in columns 2 and 5).
This is a typical configuration, but by no means the only important configuration. In
general, the MOSFET is a four-terminal device, and in integrated circuits many of the
MOSFETs share a body connection, not necessarily connected to the source terminals
of all the transistors.

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