a method of fabricating a transistor device for regulating the flow of electric current is provided wherein the device has schottky - barrier metal source - drain contacts . the method , in one embodiment , utilizes an isotropic etch process prior to the formation of the metal source - drain contacts to provide better control of the schottky - barrier junction location to a channel region . the improvements from the controllability of the placement of the schottky - barrier junction enables additional drive current and optimizes device performance , thereby significantly improving manufacturability .