Conductance quantization in quasi-ballistic InGaAs nanowire MOSFETs

Abstract

Compound semiconductor materials such as In-rich InGaAs are promising candidates as the channel material in future CMOS technology, due to their high electron mobility and injection velocity [1]. Furthermore, multi-plegate architectures, such as the FinFET, offer improved scaling capabilities through enhanced electrostatic integrity. We have previously reported on InGaAs FinFETs utilizing selectively regrown nanowires as the channel with record-high transconductance [2]. In this work, we examine the low-temperature properties of single and multiple InGaAs nanowire MOSFETs. We observe conductance quantization and extract a mean free path λ = 500 nm ± 100 nm, which is significantly longer than reported values for etched-out InGaAs/InAs nanowires [3]. By comparing with simulations we show that the observed characteristics indicate operation close to the ballistic limit.