We have developed a simulation system for nanoscale high-electron mobility transistors, in which the self-consistent solution of Poisson and Schrödinger equations is obtained with the finite element method. We solve the exact set of nonlinear differential equations to obtain electron wave function, electric potential distribution, electron density, Fermi surface energy and current density distribution in the whole body of the device. For more precision, local dependence of carrier mobility on the electric field distribution is considered. We furthermore compare the simulation to a recent experimental measurement and observe perfect agreement. We also propose a graded channel design to improve the transconductance and thereby the threshold frequency of the device.

8 pages, 19 figures