Depletion and enhancement modes

In field-effect transistors (FETs), depletion mode and enhancement mode are two major transistor types, corresponding to whether the transistor is in an ON state or an OFF state at zero gate–source voltage.

Enhancement-mode MOSFETs are the common switching elements in most MOS. These devices are off at zero gate–source voltage, and can be turned on by pulling the gate voltage either higher than the source voltage, for NMOS, or lower than the source voltage, for PMOS. In most circuits, this means pulling an enhancement-mode MOSFET's gate voltage towards its drain voltage turns it ON.