A metallization scheme employing a first refractory metal barrier layer, a Group IIIA element layer, a second refractory metal barrier layer, and an oxidation-resistant metallic layer is employed to form a source region and a drain region that provide electrical contacts to a compound semiconductor material layer. The first and second refractory metal barrier layer are free of nitrogen, and thus, do not introduce additional nitrogen into the compound semiconductor layer, while allowing diffusion of the Group IIIA element to form locally doped regions underneath the source region and the drain region. Ohmic contacts may be formed at a temperature as low as about 500° C. This enables fabrication of FET whose source and drain are self-aligned to the gate.