<electronics> (FET) A transistor with a region of donor
material with two terminals called the "source" and the
"drain", and an adjoining region of acceptor material
between, called the "gate". The voltage between the gate and
the substrate controls the current flow between source and
drain by depleting the donor region of its charge carriers to
greater or lesser extent.
There are two kinds of FET's, Junction FETs and MOSFETs.
Because no current (except a minute leakage current) flows
through the gate, FETs can be used to make circuits with very
low power consumption.
Contrast bipolar transistor.
(1995-10-05)
Nearby terms:
FidoNet « field « field circus « field effect transistor » field mouse » field-programmable gate array » field servoid
