Ultrahigh breakdown current density of van der Waals One Dimensional $\mathrm{PdBr_2}$

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a new 1D van der Waals material, PdBr₂, which can sustain a current density an order of magnitude higher than copper, promising for future nanoelectronic interconnects.

Contribution

The study introduces a truly 1D PdBr₂ nanowire with high aspect ratio and demonstrates its exceptional current-carrying capacity, highlighting its potential for nanoelectronic applications.

Findings

PdBr₂ nanowires can sustain 200 MA/cm² current density.

The material exhibits anisotropic electronic transport properties.

Liquid phase exfoliation yields long, high-aspect-ratio nanowires.

Abstract

One-dimensional (1D) van der Waals (vdW) materials offer nearly defect-free strands as channel material in the field-effect transistor (FET) devices and probably, a better interconnect than conventional copper with higher current density and resistance to electro-migration with sustainable down-scaling. We report a new halide based "truly" 1D few-chain atomic thread, PdBr$_2$, isolable from its bulk which crystallizes in a monoclinic space group C2/c. Liquid phase exfoliated nanowires with mean length (20$\pm$1)$\mu$m transferred onto SiO$_2$/Si wafer with a maximum aspect ratio of 5000 confirms the lower cleavage energy perpendicular to chain direction. Moreover, an isolated nanowire can also sustain current density of 200 MA/cm$^\mathrm{2}$ which is atleast one-order higher than typical copper interconnects. However, local transport measurement via conducting atomic force microscopy (CAFM) tip along the cross direction of the single chain records a much lower current density due to the anisotropic electronic band structure. While 1D nature of the nanoobject can be linked with non-trivial collective quantum behavior, vdW nature could be beneficial for the new pathways in interconnect fabrication strategy with better control of placement in an integrated circuit (IC).