Selective area silicon implantation for source/drain regions was integrated into the fabrication of molecular beam epitaxy-grown AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. Dopant activation was achieved by rapid thermal annealing at 1100 degrees C in nowing N-2 ambient for 120 s with an AIN encapsulation. Linear transmission line measurements showed that the resistance of the overlay Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contacts was reduced by 61% compared to the control sample. After the Schottky Ni/Au gate formation, the typical DC characteristics displayed a higher current drive, smaller knee voltage and better gate control properties for HEMTs with implanted source and drain regions. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.