Low Resistivity and High Breakdown Current Density of 10-nm Diameter van der Waals TaSe3 Nanowires by Chemical Vapor Deposition

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that 10-nm diameter van der Waals TaSe3 nanowires, synthesized via CVD, maintain low resistivity and high current density, making them promising for future nanoscale electronic interconnects.

Contribution

The paper reports the successful synthesis of ultra-thin TaSe3 nanowires with stable electrical properties and superior current-carrying capacity compared to copper at similar scales.

Findings

Resistivity unaffected by downscaling to 7 nm width and height.

TaSe3 nanowires sustain current densities over 10^8 A/cm^2.

Electromigration energy barrier is twice that of copper.

Abstract

Micron-scale single-crystal nanowires of metallic TaSe3, a material that forms -Ta-Se3-Ta-Se3- stacks separated from one another by a tubular van der Waals (vdW) gap, have been synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a SiO2/Si substrate, in a process compatible with semiconductor industry requirements. Their electrical resistivity was found unaffected by downscaling from the bulk to as little as 7 nm in width and height, in striking contrast to the resistivity of copper for the same dimensions. While the bulk resistivity of TaSe3 is substantially higher than that of bulk copper, at the nanometer scale the TaSe3 wires become competitive to similar-sized copper ones. Moreover, we find that the vdW TaSe3 nanowires sustain current densities in excess of 108 A/cm2 and feature an electromigration energy barrier twice that of copper. The results highlight the promise of quasi-one-dimensional transition metal trichalcogenides for electronic interconnect applications and the potential of van der Waals materials for downscaled electronics.