Junction Field Effect Transistor

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What Does Junction Field Effect Transistor Mean?

A junction field effect transistor (JFET) is the the simplest type of three-terminal semiconductor transistor. JFETs are widely employed as electronically controlled switches, voltage-controlled resistors and amplifiers. The semiconductor material in a JFET is positively and negatively doped and arranged to form a channel for effective functioning of the device.

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Techopedia Explains Junction Field Effect Transistor

In a JFET, the semiconductor doped with donor impurities forms an n-type channel, whereas a semiconductor doped with acceptor impurities forms a p-type region. An electrical connection at the end of the channel on a JFET is either a drain terminal or source terminal, and the middle terminal is known as a gate. These terminals are actually p-n junctions with the main channel. The main difference between any bipolar junction transistor (BJT) and a JFET is how they are controlled — a BJT is controlled by current, while a JFET is controlled by voltage.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.