Large discrete resistance jump at grain boundary in copper nanowire

Copper is the current interconnect metal of choice in integrated circuits. As interconnect dimensions decrease, the resistivity of copper increases dramatically because of electron scattering from surfaces, impurities, and grain boundaries (GBs) and threatens to stymie continued device scaling. Lacking direct measurements of individual scattering sources, understanding of the relative importance of these scattering mechanisms has largely relied on semiempirical modeling. Here we present the first ever attempt to measure and calculate individual GB resistances in copper nanowires with a one-to-one correspondence to the GB structure. Large resistance jumps are directly measured at the random GBs with a value far greater than at coincidence GBs and first-principles calculations. The high resistivity of the random GB appears to be intrinsic, arising from the scaling of electron mean free path with the size of the lattice relaxation region. The striking impact of random GB scattering adds vital information for understanding nanoscale conductors.