Contact properties of field-effect transistors based on indium arsenide nanowires thinner than 16 nm

With the scaling down of field effect transistors (FETs) to improve performance, the contact between the electrodes and the channel becomes more and more important. Contact properties of FETs based on ultrathin InAs NWs (with the diameter ranging from sub-7 nm to 16 nm) are investigated here. Chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) are proven to form ohmic contact with the ultrathin InAs NWs, in contrast to a recent report (Razavieh A et al ACS Nano 8 6281). Furthermore, the contact resistance is found to depend on the NW diameter and the contact metals, which between Cr and InAs NWs increases more rapidly than that between Ni and InAs NWs when the NW diameter decreases. The origins of the contact resistance difference for the two kinds of metals are studied and NixInAs is believed to play an important role. Based on our results, it is advantageous to use Ni as contact metal for ultrathin NWs. We also observe that the FETs are still working in the diffusive regime even when the channel length is scaled down to 50 nm.