Extra exam question E6A09
Subelement E6, CIRCUIT COMPONENTS· Group E6A
What is a depletion-mode field-effect transistor (FET)?
- A.An FET that exhibits a current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied (correct answer)
- B.An FET that has no current flow between source and drain when no gate voltage is applied
- C.An FET that exhibits very high electron mobility due to a lack of holes in the N-type material
- D.An FET for which holes are the majority carriers
WhyA depletion-mode field-effect transistor conducts current between source and drain even with no gate voltage applied. A depletion-mode FET is built so that current already flows between source and drain with no gate voltage applied at all, and applying a gate voltage of the appropriate polarity depletes the channel and reduces that current, answer A. An enhancement-mode FET is the opposite, no current flows until a gate voltage is applied, and the other two options describe unrelated material characteristics rather than what "depletion-mode" actually means.
Published 2026-08-28 · Last updated 2026-08-28 · Question text is verbatim from the 2024-2028 NCVEC Element 4 pool (public domain); the explanation above is original writing, see our methodology.
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