An ultra-energy-efficient interconnect structure based on multilayer graphene nanoribbon (MLGNR) interconnects for deep-nanometer technologies is proposed herein. First, a low-swing interconnect based on MLGNRs and high-performance interface circuits using carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) is proposed. Then, an ultra-energy-efficient interconnect structure is obtained by actively shielding such low-swing lines. The structures under study are simulated comprehensively at the 7-nm technology node. The results indicate that the MLGNR interconnect is significantly more energy efficient than its multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) counterpart in the low-voltage regime. Moreover, the proposed approach is superior to its MLGNR counterparts. The proposed structure leads to 86%, 75%, and 31% lower energy consumption over a length of 500 µm as compared with the typical, actively shielded, and low-swing MLGNR interconnects, respectively. Moreover, the impact of the ratio of the widths of the signal line to the shield line on the performance of the interconnects is evaluated. The energy consumption reduction achieved by the proposed approach is mostly preserved even when using minimum-width shield lines on wider signal lines to reduce the area overhead. Moreover, the impact of process variations on the performance of the interconnects is assessed using Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrating the robustness of the proposed approach.

本文提出了用于深纳米技术的基于多层石墨烯纳米带（MLGNR）互连的超节能互连结构。首先，提出了一种基于MLGNR的低摆幅互连和使用碳纳米管场效应晶体管（CNTFET）的高性能接口电路。然后，通过主动屏蔽这种低摆线来获得超节能互连结构。在7纳米技术节点上对所研究的结构进行了全面模拟。结果表明，在低压状态下，MLGNR互连比其多壁碳纳米管（MWCNT）对应的能源效率更高。此外，所提出的方法优于其MLGNR同行。拟议的结构导致86％，75％，与典型的有源屏蔽低摆动MLGNR互连相比，在500 µm长度上的能耗分别降低了31％和31％。此外，评估了信号线与屏蔽线的宽度之比对互连性能的影响。即使在较宽的信号线上使用最小宽度的屏蔽线以减少面积开销时，通过提议的方法实现的能耗降低也大部分得以保留。此外，使用蒙特卡洛模拟评估了工艺变化对互连性能的影响，证明了所提出方法的鲁棒性。评估了信号线与屏蔽线的宽度之比对互连性能的影响。即使在较宽的信号线上使用最小宽度的屏蔽线以减少面积开销时，通过提议的方法实现的能耗降低也大部分得以保留。此外，使用蒙特卡洛模拟评估了工艺变化对互连性能的影响，证明了所提出方法的鲁棒性。评估了信号线与屏蔽线的宽度之比对互连性能的影响。即使在较宽的信号线上使用最小宽度的屏蔽线以减少面积开销时，通过提议的方法实现的能耗降低也大部分得以保留。此外，使用蒙特卡洛模拟评估了工艺变化对互连性能的影响，证明了所提出方法的鲁棒性。