Patent ID: 8405165

Claim:
A field effect transistor (“FET”), comprising: an isolation structure; a semiconductor region including a continuous channel region, a source region and a drain region; a gate dielectric contacting said upper surface of said semiconductor region and overlying said channel region; and a gate conductor overlying said gate dielectric over said channel region and overlying portions of said isolation structure wherein said gate conductor extending in a first direction, said channel region having a width extending in said first direction from a first edge of isolation structure to a second edge of said isolation structure opposite from said first edge, said source region is separate from said drain region by said channel region in a second direction which being transverse to said first direction, and said FET is configured to conduct a current from said source region to said region in said drain second direction, said channel region having a first portion extending a first part of said width of said channel region, and a second portion extending away from said first portion a second part of said width of said channel region, said first portion of said channel region having a first threshold voltage having a first magnitude and said second portion of said channel region having a second threshold voltage having a second magnitude higher than said first magnitude, said first threshold voltage and said second threshold voltage being effective at the same time, such that said FET is operable in response to a gate-source voltage between said gate conductor and said source region in multiple states including at least: a) an essentially nonconductive state when a magnitude of said gate-source voltage is less than said first magnitude and less than said second magnitude such that a source-drain current between said source region and said drain region has a negligible value; b) a first conductive state when said magnitude of said gate-source voltage is greater than said first magnitude and less than said second magnitude in which state said source-drain current has a first operating value of about ten or more times higher than said negligible value; and c) a second conductive state when said magnitude of said gate-source voltage is greater than first magnitude and said second magnitude and in which state said source-drain current has a second operating value of about ten or more times higher than said first operating value.