Extending the current-carrying-capacity of Copper using Carbon Nanotubes (Printed Electronics Europe 2013)

• This talk would focus on the development of CNT-Copper (CNT-Cu) composite exhibiting 100-times higher current-carrying-capacity (108 A/cm2) than any metal (~106 A/cm2).

• The material exhibits unparalleled stability at 108 A/cm2.This has been achieved without compromising on its electrical conductivity (81% of pure Cu).

• Thus, this material presents an important technological advantage over conventional metals in back-end-of-line circuits, interconnects and vias of microelectronic devices.

• Ability to batch-fabricate the composite into micro-scale 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional structures resembling BEOL circuits and interconnects will be shown. The underlying mechanism enabling the high current-carrying-capacity will be briefly discussed.

Chandramouli Subramaniam received his Dual Degree (Master's and Ph.D.) from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His thesis dealt with fabrication of sensors from nanomaterials with particular emphasis on metal nanoparticles and Carbon nanotubes. Besides publications in leading journals such as Physical Review Letters and Chemistry of Materials, he has also got several international patents to his credit. He joined TASC since its inception and is working towards developing commercial applications of CNT composites. His interest and expertise includes Carbon nanotubes and electrical properties of nanosystems. He is also a recipient of Iijima Medal and Prize awarded by the Fullerenes-Nanotubes-Graphene Society of Japan and the INC8 Japan Nano Day Best Poster Award.