Hole mobility enhancement in In0.41Ga0.59Sb quantum-well field-effect transistors

The impact of ⟨110⟩ uniaxial strain on the characteristics of p-channel In0.41Ga0.59Sb quantum-well field-effect transistors (QW-FETs) is studied through chip-bending experiments. Uniaxial strain is found to affect the linear-regime drain current and the threshold voltage of the FET through the modulation of the hole mobility of the two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in the QW-FET. The piezoresistance coefficients of the 2DHG have been determined to be π∥⟨110⟩=1.17×10−10 cm2/dyn and π⊥⟨110⟩=−1.9×10−11 cm2/dyn. The value of π∥⟨110⟩ is 1.5 times that of holes in Si metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors and establishes InGaSb as a promising material system for a future III-V complementary MOS (CMOS) technology.