Graphene wires as alternative interconnects

In this paper, we evaluate the material properties of graphene and compare with Cu in order to assess the potential application of graphene to replace copper wires in BEOL interconnects. Based on circuit and system-level simulations, high restrictions are imposed to graphene with respect to contact resistance and mean free path. Experimentally we measure, a mean-free-path (MFP) of ~150 nm, which exceeds the value for Cu. However, contact engineering will be the key issue for integration of graphene as interconnect.