Suppressed Rupture of Thin Metal Films via van der Waals Epitaxy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that using graphene as a van der Waals template can suppress rupture in ultrathin metal films, enabling high-temperature stability and expanding processing options for nanoscale devices.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel vdW epitaxy method with graphene to prevent rupture in ultrathin metal films, enhancing their thermal stability and structural integrity.

Findings

Templated films remain stable above 600°C, unlike conventional films.

vdW-mediated texture reorganizes grain boundaries into a robust network.

This approach widens the processing window for nanoscale interconnects.

Abstract

Ultrathin metal films exhibit liquid-like instabilities, rupturing via surface diffusion far below their melting points. This behavior constrains thermal budgets for advanced integrated circuits and emerging 2D-crystal devices. Here, we demonstrate that these instabilities can be fundamentally suppressed using graphene as a van der Waals (vdW) template. While conventional 20-nm-thick gold films break up into islands below 300 {\textdegree}C, templated films not only remain stable but also become structurally refined after annealing above 600 {\textdegree}C. This exceptional stability stems from a vdW-mediated crystallographic texture that reorganizes grain boundaries into a mechanically robust network. This mechanism significantly widens the processing window for nanoscale interconnects and enables high-temperature integration of metals with 2D-crystal technologies.