The aggressive scaling of integrated circuits requires both nanoscale device channels and interconnects. The current Cu interconnects suffer from the limitations of both a nonlinear increase in the resistivity and diminishing current-carrying capacity with scaling down below 20 nm. Here, we evaluated the electrical characteristics of ZrTe₃ nanoribbons, which are representative of a special type of quasi-one-dimensional (1D)/two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials, as a possible alternative of Cu for next-generation interconnects. The metallic ZrTe₃ nanoribbons with different dimensions, which were obtained by exfoliation from the high-quality bulk ZrTe₃ single crystals synthesized via chemical vapor deposition (CVT) approach, show both size-independent resistivity with high stability at a low electric field and high breakdown current density at a high electric field. A nonlinear increase of breakdown current density was further revealed with a maximum of ∼144 MA/cm² for 5 nm ZrTe₃ nanoribbons by the finite element simulation. Our investigation features the promise of ZrTe₃ nanoribbons as the possible alternative of Cu for the next-generation interconnects.

中文翻译：

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评估准一维 ZrTe3 纳米带互连的电气特性

集成电路的大规模扩展需要纳米级器件通道和互连。当前的铜互连受到电阻率非线性增加和载流能力随着缩小到 20 nm 以下的限制。在这里，我们评估了 ZrTe ₃纳米带的电特性，它是一种特殊类型的准一维 (1D)/二维 (2D) 范德华材料的代表，作为下一代 Cu 的可能替代品互连。不同尺寸的金属 ZrTe ₃纳米带，通过从高质量块状 ZrTe ₃剥离获得通过化学气相沉积 (CVT) 方法合成的单晶显示出与尺寸无关的电阻率，在低电场下具有高稳定性，在高电场下具有高击穿电流密度。通过有限元模拟进一步揭示了击穿电流密度的非线性增加，对于 5 nm ZrTe ₃纳米带，最大值为 ~144 MA/cm ²。我们的研究表明 ZrTe ₃纳米带有望成为下一代互连中 Cu 的可能替代品。