A Laterally Movable Gate Field Effect Transistor

A laterally movable gate field effect transistor (LMGFET) device that directly couples lateral mechanical gate motion to drain current of a FET is presented in this paper. Lateral motion of the FET gate results in a change in channel width, keeping the channel length and the gap between the gate and the oxide layer constant. This results in a change in channel current that, in principle, is linearly proportional to mechanical motion. The operating principle of an LMGFET, along with details of the fabrication process for a depletion-type LMGFET device, is described. Fabricated LMGFET shows an average drain current sensitivity to gate motion of -5.8 ¿A/¿m at V
_DS
= 20 V and V
_GS
= 0 V for 60-¿m gate motion. A model for the fabricated LMGFET is developed based on electrical measurements. The device shows promise both as a sensor and as an actuator in MEMS and other related applications.