Analysis of the trade-offs between conventional and superconducting interconnections

The performance tradeoffs for conventional and superconducting interconnections in applications ranging from printed wiring boards to chips are examined. For most semiconductor device-based applications, the potential gains in wiring density offered by superconductors appear to be more important than the bandwidth improvements. The analysis determines the values of critical current density above which superconductors outperform conventional wires in systems of various physical sizes. This identifies particular interconnection technologies for which high-temperature superconductors show the most promise.<>