Transport in Nanoribbon Interconnects Obtained from Graphene Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

TL;DR

This study investigates the electrical properties of graphene nanoribbon interconnects from CVD-grown graphene across a wide temperature range, demonstrating high current densities and quantum dot behavior at low temperatures.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis of CVD-grown GNR interconnects, highlighting their high current capacity and quantum effects, and discusses challenges like variability and contact resistance.

Findings

Peak current densities reach ~2 x 10^9 A/cm2 with thermal engineering.

GNRs act as quantum dots below ~5 K due to contact effects.

Mobility comparable to exfoliated graphene, indicating quality of CVD GNRs.

Abstract

We study graphene nanoribbon (GNR) interconnects obtained from graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). We report low- and high-field electrical measurements over a wide temperature range, from 1.7 to 900 K. Room temperature mobilities range from 100 to 500 cm2/V/s, comparable to GNRs from exfoliated graphene, suggesting that bulk defects or grain boundaries play little role in devices smaller than the CVD graphene crystallite size. At high-field, peak current densities are limited by Joule heating, but a small amount of thermal engineering allows us to reach ~2 x 10^9 A/cm2, the highest reported for nanoscale CVD graphene interconnects. At temperatures below ~5 K, short GNRs act as quantum dots with dimensions comparable to their lengths, highlighting the role of metal contacts in limiting transport. Our study illustrates opportunities for CVD-grown GNRs, while revealing variability and contacts as remaining future challenges.