Scalable alloy-based sputtering of high-conductivity PdCoO$_2$ for advanced interconnects

TL;DR

This paper reports a scalable sputtering method to deposit high-conductivity PdCoO$_2$ thin films, enabling its potential use as an interconnect material in advanced integrated circuits.

Contribution

It introduces a novel reactive sputtering process for wafer-scale deposition of PdCoO$_2$, a layered oxide with superior conductivity for interconnects.

Findings

Successful wafer-scale growth of PdCoO$_2$ films

High in-plane conductivity exceeding elemental Al

Potential for integration into semiconductor devices

Abstract

As integrated circuits continue to scale down, the search for new metals is becoming increasingly important due to the rising resistivity of traditional copper-based interconnects. A layered oxide PdCoO$_2$ is one of the candidate materials for interconnects, having bulk ab-plane conductivity exceeding that of elemental Al. Despite its potential, wafer-scale vacuum deposition of PdCoO$_2$, crucial for interconnect applications, has not yet been reported. In this study, we succeeded in the scalable growth of c-axis oriented PdCoO$_2$ thin films via reactive sputtering from Pd-Co alloy targets. Our method paves the way to harness the unique properties of PdCoO$_2$ in semiconductor devices.