MOSFET Gate
Resistor
August 3, 2021 by Øyvind Nydal Dahl
Do you need a MOSFET gate resistor?
What value should it be? And should it go
before or after the pulldown resistor?
If you’re a bit impatient and just want the
answer, here it is:
It will most likely work without a gate
resistor, but adding one can prevent some
potential problems. And 1000 Ω will most
likely work. See the circuit diagram below
for connecting your MOSFET gate resistor
(the Pull-down resistor is optional):
Why Do You Need a Gate
Resistor?
In how transistors work, we briefly touched
upon that gate-to-source of a MOSFET
acts as a capacitor.
And a capacitor works like this:
When a capacitor is charging –
current flows through it. A lot in the
beginning, then less and less.
When a capacitor is fully charged –
no current flows through it.
When your MOSFET is turned on, its gate-
source capacitor is fully charged. So there
is no current flowing through the gate.
But when your MOSFET is being turned on,
you’ll have a current that is charging this
gate-source capacitor. So for a small
fraction of a second, there can be a lot of
current flowing.
To make sure this short burst of current
isn’t too high for your Arduino/Raspberry
Pi/microcontroller (or whatever you’ve
connected it to) you need to add a resistor
in series between the output pin and the
MOSFET transistor’s gate:
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Choosing A Resistor Value
Often 1000 Ω is a good enough value for
this. But it depends on your circuit.
You can calculate the maximum current
you get from a resistor by using Ohm’s law
for current:
For example in the case of Arduino that has
5V on its output pins, 1000 Ω gives you a
maximum current of 5 mA (and Arduino
pins can handle up to 40 mA):
If you want to switch the output on and off
rapidly, keep in mind that the higher
resistance you are using, the slower the
MOSFET will turn on/off.
MOSFET Gate Resistor
Placement
Are you using a pulldown resistor for your
MOSFET? Then remember that if the gate
resistor is placed to the left of the pulldown
resistor, you get a voltage divider circuit
that will reduce the voltage to the gate:
If you have chosen a gate resistor that is at
least 100 times smaller than the pulldown
resistor, then the reduction in voltage is so
small that it doesn’t matter. But if they are a
bit closer in value, the voltage on your gate
will be lower than the pin voltage.
The solution? Switch places between the
two so that the pulldown resistor is
connected directly to the output pin:
More Transistors
Tutorials
How Transistors Work
Transistor as a Switch
The Bipolar Junction Transistor
(BJT)
The PNP Transistor
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
(IGBT)
MOSFET Gate Resistor
The Phototransistor
Transistor Circuit: Astable
Multivibrator for Blinking
Transistor Circuit: H-Bridge for
Motor Control
Electronics is easy when you know
what to focus on and what to ignore.
Learn what "the basics" really is and
how to learn it fast.
Email Address
Download Guide
More Transistors Tutorials
How Transistors Work
Transistor as a Switch
The Bipolar Junction Transistor
(BJT)
The PNP Transistor
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
(IGBT)
MOSFET Gate Resistor
The Phototransistor
Transistor Circuit: Astable
Multivibrator for Blinking
Transistor Circuit: H-Bridge for
Motor Control
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