MESFET stands for Metal-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor. It is quite similar to a JFET in construction and terminology. The difference is that instead of a using a p-n junction for a gate, a Schottky (metal-semiconductor) junction is used. MESFETs are usually constructed in GaAs, InP, or SiC (never silicon), and hence are faster but more expensive than silicon-based JFETs or MOSFETs. MESFETs are operated up to approximately 30 GHz and are commonly used for microwave frequency communications and radar. From a digital circuit design perspective, it is difficult to use MESFETs as the basis for large-scale digital integrated circuits.
See also Field effect transistor
