The most popular AddOhms video is my short tutorial on MOSFET basics. In the years since I posted the video, people have sent me many questions. While answering those questions I’ve learned quite a bit as well. For example, in that video, I say that Vgs is the threshold to turn on the MOSFET. Well, it turns out, that is not entirely true. It is the threshold to turn it off! Oops. A minor point with a subtle difference, but a common MOSFET misconception.

In this post, I dispel that and other common myths and misconceptions around using MOSFETs. As with all engineering tips and tricks, this post is not a definitive guide to FETs. Instead, it is meant to be a guide to help you ask the right questions to design in the correct part.

1. Misconception: You don’t need resistors on the gate

Back when I made the AddOhms episode, I added a resistor to the MOSFET’s gate pin. Of course any time a resistor is shown in a schematic, people get worried about what complicated formula is needed to determine its value. For slow switching applications, like below 10 kHz, the resistor value doesn’t matter. Something in the 100 to 1000 ohm range is fine.

So if the value does not matter, why have one? The gate of a MOSFET is a small capacitor. And what happens when applying a voltage to a capacitor? It starts charging.

The initial current is very high. It slows down as the capacitor charges. That initial current rush, also known as in-rush current, can be a problem. Even though it is a short time, there is a significant current surge that can damage an I/O pin. Depending on the size of the MOSFET’s gate capacitance, it may not be necessary to include that resistor. I wish I could say to “just” add it any time you use a MOSFET. If there is a high switching frequency, say 100 kHz or higher, then you have to worry about the RC charging curve created by the resistor and the gate capacitance.