Patent ID: 8633470

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a barrier layer coupled with the semiconductor substrate; a quantum well channel coupled to the barrier layer, the quantum well channel comprising a first material having a first lattice constant; a source structure coupled to the quantum well channel, the source structure comprising a second material having a second lattice constant, wherein the second lattice constant is different than the first lattice constant and the first material of the quantum well channel does not extend into the source structure; a drain structure coupled to the quantum well channel, the drain structure comprising the second material having the second lattice constant; a source electrode coupled to the source structure; a drain electrode coupled to the drain structure; a gate electrode coupled to control a current flow in the quantum well channel, the gate electrode being disposed between the source electrode and the drain electrode; and a strain-inducing film in direct contact with the second material of the source structure and the drain structure to reduce resistance of the quantum well channel by imparting a tensile or compressive strain on the quantum well channel, the tensile or compressive strain being in a direction that is substantially parallel with a longitudinal direction of the quantum well channel.