title: Breakdown current density in h-BN-capped quasi-1D TaSe3 metallic nanowires: prospects of interconnect applications.
abstract: We report on the current-carrying capacity of the nanowires made from the quasi-1D van der Waals metal tantalum triselenide capped with quasi-2D boron nitride. The chemical vapor transport method followed by chemical and mechanical exfoliation were used to fabricate the mm-long TaSe3 wires with the lateral dimensions in the 20 to 70 nm range. Electrical measurements establish that the TaSe3/h-BN nanowire heterostructures have a breakdown current density exceeding 10 MA cm(-2)-an order-of-magnitude higher than that for copper. Some devices exhibited an intriguing step-like breakdown, which can be explained by the atomic thread bundle structure of the nanowires. The quasi-1D single crystal nature of TaSe3 results in a low surface roughness and in the absence of the grain boundaries. These features can potentially enable the downscaling of the nanowires to lateral dimensions in a few-nm range. Our results suggest that quasi-1D van der Waals metals have potential for applications in the ultimately downscaled local interconnects.
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Maxim A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stolyarov
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Guanxiong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bloodgood
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Ece
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aytan
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Rameez
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samnakay
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Tina T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Salguero
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu and E. Pokatilov Laboratory of Physics and Engineering of Nanomaterials, Department of Physics and Engineering, Moldova State University, Chisinau, MD-2009, Republic of Moldova.
authors.forename: Denis L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Nika
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
authors.forename: Sergey L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rumyantsev
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shur
authors.affiliation: Central Facility for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
authors.forename: Krassimir N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Bozhilov
authors.affiliation: Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL) and Phonon Optimized Engineered Materials (POEM) Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California - Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. balandin@ece.ucr.edu.
authors.forename: Alexander A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Balandin