Theoretical and experimental analysis of the source resistance components in In0.7Ga0.3As quantum-well high-electron-mobility transistors

Herein we describe theoretical and experimental analysis of the source resistance (Rs) components in In0.7Ga0.3As/In0.52Al0.48As quantum-well (QW) high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) on an InP substrate. First, we analytically modeled Rs using a three-layer formula, separately modeling the regions of the ohmic contact, the gate-to-source access, and the side-recessed regions. The resistances of the ohmic contact and access regions were analyzed in a distributed-network manner with two different transfer lengths, whereas the resistance associated with the side-recess region near the gate edge was modeled by using a lumped element. To verify the accuracy of the proposed Rs model, we fabricated two different types of transmission-line-method (TLM) test patterns as well as long-channel In0.7Ga0.3As/In0.52Al0.48As QW HEMTs, and compared their measured and modeled Rs. The modeled Rs was in excellent agreement with the measured Rs from the recessed TLM patterns and the long-channel HEMTs. Since the widths of the ohmic contact to the heavily doped In0.53Ga0.47As capping layer and the gate-to-source access region were typically much greater than corresponding transfer lengths ( $$L_{{{\text{T}}\_{\text{cap}}}}$$ and $$L_{{{\text{T}}\_{\text{barrier}}}}$$ ), those distributed networks could be simplified to a lumped-element based one-layer model, revealing that the tunneling resistance ( $$R_{{{\text{barrier}}}}$$ ) through the In0.52Al0.48As barrier should be carefully considered to minimize the Rs of InxGa1−xAs QW HEMTs together with S/D contact resistances and LGS.