Breakdown current density in h-BN-capped quasi-1D TaSe3 metallic nanowires: prospects of interconnect applications

We report on the current-carrying capacity of the nanowires made from the quasi-1D van der Waals metal tantalum triselenide capped with quasi-2D boron nitride. The chemical vapor transport method followed by chemical and mechanical exfoliation were used to fabricate the mm-long TaSe3 wires with the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2016-08, Vol.8 (34), p.15774-15782
Main Authors: Stolyarov, Maxim A, Liu, Guanxiong, Bloodgood, Matthew A, Aytan, Ece, Jiang, Chenglong, Samnakay, Rameez, Salguero, Tina T, Nika, Denis L, Rumyantsev, Sergey L, Shur, Michael S, Bozhilov, Krassimir N, Balandin, Alexander A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic structure
Breakdown
Bundling
Current density
Grain boundaries
Interconnections
Nanostructure
Nanowires
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Summary:We report on the current-carrying capacity of the nanowires made from the quasi-1D van der Waals metal tantalum triselenide capped with quasi-2D boron nitride. The chemical vapor transport method followed by chemical and mechanical exfoliation were used to fabricate the mm-long TaSe3 wires with the lateral dimensions in the 20 to 70 nm range. Electrical measurements establish that the TaSe3/h-BN nanowire heterostructures have a breakdown current density exceeding 10 MA cm(-2)-an order-of-magnitude higher than that for copper. Some devices exhibited an intriguing step-like breakdown, which can be explained by the atomic thread bundle structure of the nanowires. The quasi-1D single crystal nature of TaSe3 results in a low surface roughness and in the absence of the grain boundaries. These features can potentially enable the downscaling of the nanowires to lateral dimensions in a few-nm range. Our results suggest that quasi-1D van der Waals metals have potential for applications in the ultimately downscaled local interconnects.
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/c6nr03469a