The mosfet has
the gate insulated from the substrate by a thin layer of silicon oxide,
to prevent gate current flowing and damaging the device (see the page on
fets).
There are two main families. Enhancement - where the mosfet has to be forward biased like a transistor. Depletion - where the mosfet is reverse biased like a thermionic valve (tube in the USA). Some mosfets have two gates (dual gate mosfets) and are commonly used as r.f. mixers. The insulating
layer is extremely thin and can be easily damaged by static.
Some devices have Zener diodes built in, between gate and source, for protection.
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