Carbon nanotubes guides for nickel electrical interconnects

We present an innovative approach for interconnections based on aligning nanosized nickel particles along single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) bundles. The nanotubes are first deposited to connect normal gold contacts or niobium nitride (NbN) superconducting pads and a successive step in fabrication, based on an electrochemical method, enables us to “coat” the nanotubes with nickel particles. This technique, as shown by FE-SEM analysis generates chains of nickel particles aligned along the nanotubes connecting the contact electrodes. The temperature dependence of the resistance of the chains of Ni nanoparticles evidences the metallic nature of the obtained interconnection and shows values of the resistances up to three orders of magnitudes lower than those of the bare nanotubes bundles. The ease of the fabrication process and its reliability candidate our technique as a possible solution for interconnects applications.