Metal on Graphenated Metal for VLSI Interconnects

Copper is running out of steam for modern very large scale integration (VLSI) technology and therefore there is a need for paradigm shift to a more reliable interconnect structure. Metal–graphene–metal structure is suggested to be a suitable candidate. A new method is devised wherein graphene synthesized on copper foil can act as a reducing agent for electroless plating of copper without the need of any other chemical species, making such novel interconnect structure feasible in practice. The superiority of such interconnect structure can be seen both experimentally and simulationally. Such deposition is also possible for synthesized or transferred graphene on other metals such as nickel, titanium, aluminum, gold, silver, cobalt, palladium, having metal–graphene interface separation of less than 3.2–3.6 Å as derived from its fundamental principle.