ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the experimental advancements in the field of carbon nanotube (CNT) interconnects, mainly focusing on the works conducted in the group at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. To align the CNT in the preferred direction, it is desirable to provide an external force to overcome the thermal randomization Aligned Carbon Nanotubes for Interconnect Application during the CNT growth process. Among these approaches, carbon nanotube has emerged as a promising candidate for next-generation interconnect conductors because of its ballistic transport characteristics, high thermal conductivity, high current carrying capacity, and high aspect ratio. In the VLSI interconnect hierarchy, different locations in the same level are connected by the isolated interconnect lines, and different levels of the interconnections are connected by the contacts/vias. The integration of the horizontally aligned CNTs as the interconnect line has been demonstrated by several methods, including the direct growth, transfer, and dielectrophoresis.
