Carbon Nanotube Interconnects Realized through Functionalization and Sintered Silver Attachment

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the form of interconnects have many potential applications, and their ability to perform at high temperatures gives them a unique capability. We show the development of a novel transfer process using CNTs and sintered silver that offers a unique high-temperature, high-conductivity, and potentially flexible interconnect solution. Arrays of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes of approximately 200 μm in length were grown on silicon substrates, using low-temperature photothermal chemical vapor deposition. Oxygen plasma treatment was used to introduce defects, in the form of hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl groups, on the walls of the carbon nanotubes so that they could bond to palladium (Pd). Nanoparticle silver was then used to bind the Pd-coated multiwalled CNTs to a copper substrate. The silver-CNT-silver interconnects were found to be ohmic conductors, with resistivity of 6.2 × 10(-4) Ωm; the interconnects were heated to temperatures exceeding 300 °C (where common solders fail) and were found to maintain their electrical performance.