ChatTraditional copper wires choke with electrical resistance when shrunk down to nanoscale dimensions; exotic topological semimetal nanowires grow more conductive as they get smaller. By exploiting topologically protected quantum surface states in niobium arsenide, semiconductor engineers have shattered the interconnect wall threatening the future of microchip miniaturization.
In advanced microchip manufacturing, building faster computer processors requires shrinking billions of microscopic copper wires down to atomic widths. However, when copper wires shrink below ten nanometers, electrons slam into the narrow wire walls like cars pinballing down an alleyway, generating blistering heat and choking electrical current.
Materials engineers at IBM and Stanford discovered a quantum wire that behaves in reverse: a topological semimetal crystal called niobium arsenide. Instead of choking on narrow surfaces, electrons glide along the wire's outer surface on protected quantum super-lanes without bouncing into atoms.
These topological wires get more conductive as they shrink. By replacing copper in sub-two-nanometer computer chips, by slashing power consumption in supercomputing AI servers, and by keeping Moore's Law alive for another decade, quantum interconnects power the next computing revolution.
Surface-dominant transport in Weyl semimetal NbAs nanowires for next-generation interconnects
Ongoing demands for smaller and more energy-efficient electronic devices necessitate alternative interconnect materials with lower electrical resistivity at reduced dimensions. We report the synthesis of Weyl semimetal niobium arsenide (NbAs) nanowires through thermomechanical nanomolding with single crystallinity and controlled diameters down to 40 nanometers. The resistivity of NbAs nanowires decreases with decreasing diameter, and 40-nanometer-diameter nanowires exhibited a room-temperature resistivity of 10.5 ± 1.9 microhm·centimeters, which is ~70% lower than their bulk counterpart. Calculations attribute this resistivity reduction to surface-dominant conduction with a long carrier lifetime at finite temperatures. Further characterization of nanowires and bulk crystals revealed high breakdown current density, stability, and thermal conductivity. These properties highlight the potential of NbAs nanowires as next-generation interconnects that could surpass the limitations of current copper-based interconnects.
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