Where IDSS is the maximum drain current when the gate to source voltage, Vgs=0 volt and where the cut-off voltage or pinch off voltage is Vp, which is a constant given by the data sheet of the depletion mode FET, and where Vds=drain to source voltage, and where the control voltage, Vgs, is the gate to source voltage that varies the drain to source resistance of the depletion mode FET.
A general equation for a depletion mode FET resistance from its drain to source terminals, Rds, such is characterized by the following equation: