Techniques for the fabrication of field-effect transistors (FETs) having
nanowire channels are provided. In one aspect, a method of fabricating a
FET is provided comprising the following steps. A substrate is provided
having a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) layer. At least one nanowire is
deposited over the SOI layer. A sacrificial gate is formed over the SOI
layer so as to cover a portion of the nanowire that forms a channel
region. An epitaxial semiconductor material is selectively grown from the
SOI layer that covers the nanowire and attaches the nanowire to the SOI
layer in a source region and in a drain region. The sacrificial gate is
removed. An oxide is formed that divides the SOI layer into at least two
electrically isolated sections, one section included in the source region
and the other section included in the drain region. A gate dielectric
layer is formed over the channel region. A gate is formed over the
channel region separated from the nanowire by the gate dielectric layer.
A metal-semiconductor alloy is formed over the source and drain regions.