Transmission Line Characteristics of a CNT-based Vertical Interconnect Scheme

The transmission line behavior of a proposed CNT-based coaxial vertical interconnect scheme is studied while a nanotransmission line model for the CNT interconnect scheme is also proposed. Using copper as a benchmark, a transmission line performance evaluation is carried out, which considers the size and skin effects on its electrical resistivity. As a feature of 1D systems, the total inductance of the proposed CNT coaxial via is dominated by its kinetic inductance while the total capacitance is determined by its lower electrostatic capacitance value. For the frequency response, the CNT via scheme does not perform as well as its copper counterpart. However, the SWCNT via scheme can rival the copper one in the S₂₁ parameter. An exciting range of applications awaits CNTs if new technological advancements can be harvested to reduce their resistance and inductance.