Are carbon nanotubes the future of VLSI interconnections?

Abstract

Increasing resistivity of copper with scaling and rising demands on current density requirements are driving the need to identify new wiring solutions for deep nanometer scale VLSI technologies. Metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising candidates that can potentially address the challenges faced by copper and thereby extend the lifetime of electrical interconnects. This paper examines the state-of-the-art in CNT interconnect research and discusses both the advantages and challenges of this emerging nanotechnology.