Carbon-based interconnect: Performance, scaling and reliability of 3D stacked multilayer graphene system

We investigate performance, scaling, and reliability of 3D stacked multilayer graphene (s-MLG) as a new material candidate for carbon based interconnects, aiming to break through the limit of graphene monolayer in which electrical conduction and the associated wire scalability and reliability are largely hampered by its atomically-thin 2D nature. We observed superior wire conduction of s-MLG over that of monolayer graphene or ABAB-stacked multilayer graphene. Further reduction of s-MLG resistivity is anticipated with increasing number of stacked layers. Electrical stress-induced doping is used to engineer the Dirac point and to reduce graphene-to-metal contact resistance, improving key performance metrics of the s-MLG. We demonstrate that 3D s-MLG could potentially serve as a viable material system for high-speed, reliable on-chip interconnects in the “post-Cu” era.