Characteristics of aligned carbon nanofibers for interconnect via applications

Electrical properties of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are characterized with measurements over a broad temperature range (4-300 K). Temperature-dependent measurements of CNF via resistivity reveal a behavior resembling the mixture of graphite a-axis and c-axis transport mechanisms. For the first time, temperature-dependent characteristics of CNFs are measured and modeled based on previously developed models for electron conduction in graphite. Reliability measurements are performed to demonstrate the robust electrical and thermal properties of CNF vias for next-generation on-chip-interconnect designs.