100W HiFi MOSFET Amp

100W HiFi MOSFET Amp
100W HiFi MOSFET Amp
The neat thing about the series 5000 is that it was built around new (at the time) Hitachi lateral power MOSFETs. Most power MOSFETs (VMOS, trenchFETs, HexFETs etc) use a vertical structure, where the current flows vertically. This has the advantage of stunningly low Rds and hence high efficiency, but does nothing for linearity or capacitance. Lateral MOSFETs are a much simpler structure, where the gate oxide is formed on a flat substrate, and the current flows across the substrate. This results in well defined, controllable device parameters, good linearity, and relatively low gate capacitance. However, the Rds of lateral MOSFETs is nothing to write home about.

MOSFETs also have a high input impedance at low frequencies, and are capable (when driven by a suitable source) of extremely high slew-rates. Of course this very attribute makes them rather prone to HF oscillation when improperly compensated, but with careful design they're capable of impressive intermod performance.