Two-dimensional quantum mechanical modeling of silicide–silicon contact resistance for nanoscale silicon-on-insulator metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor

We present a two-dimensional quantum mechanical simulation method to explore the source/drain (S/D) contacts in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET. The dependencies of the contact resistance on the contact length, Schottky barrier height, doping concentration, SOI thickness, are investigated. Ballistic transport simulation is performed to benchmark the performance limits of the S/D contact resistance. Quantum confinement effect, quantum interference effect, and current crowding effect, which are important for the performance of the contact resistance, are demonstrated. The validity of the transmission line model in this nanoscale regime is examined. The discrepancy between results of the transmission line model and those of the quantum mechanical simulation, due to the quantum effect at nanometer-scale, is illustrated and explained.