Two Stage Buffers The next step is to address the problem of the MOSFET's high input capacitance. High power MOSFETs carry the penalty of a large amount of capacitance from the gate to the drain, which requires a fairly heavy current to charge and discharge quickly enough to provide an adequate slew rate and a wide bandwidth. In fact, capacitance against slew rate equals current : I = SR x C. The gate to source capacitance is not as much a liability, as the source will follow the gate closely, resulting in just a few volts of gate swing relative to the source. What is, in truth, an added hassle is the interconnect's capacitance, which can be substantial for long runs. So then, how do we drive all of this capacitance? Two possible solutions stand out: use a more robust line-stage amplifier; for example, one that used a 6BX7 or 2A3 as the output tube; or add a second stage to our high-power buffer. The first approach is obvious enough, but the second approach entails a few subtleties. Adding a pre-buffer to our present circuit can take two forms, if were restrict ourselves to solid-state devices: adding a N or a P-device. (If we decide to use a vacuum tube our only choice is N-device, as that is the only flavor tubes come in.)
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