Abstract:
In this article, the importance of edge-passivation with
transition metals (TM) in armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) is described for interconnect applications. The electronic and
transport properties of TM edge-passivated AGNRs structure is
found to be exceptional in comparison to hydrogen edge-passivated
AGNRs. Detailed analysis of binding energy, E-k diagram, density
of states (DOS), transmission spectrum, current-voltage characteristics and number of conduction channels of TM edge-passivated
AGNRs configuration has been performed using density functional
theory and non-equilibrium Green function technique. The significant interconnect performance metrics such as delay, energy-delayproduct (EDP) have also been evaluated to justify the importance
of projected work. The TMs considered in this work are Palladium
(Pd), Platinum (Pt), Rhodium (Rh) and Ruthenium (Ru). It is
observed that both-side edge-passivation provides better results
as compared to single-side. Ru is the potential TM that provides
higher currents among all when used in both-edge passivated
AGNRs. Ru-AGNR-Ru shows a 10.6x lesser delay and 9.2x lesser
EDP as compared to H-AGNR-H interconnects. Therefore, taking
all the results into account, both edge Ru-passivated AGNRs i.e.,
Ru-AGNR-Ru, with the most stable structure in both side TM edge
passivation, proves to be the best contender for future interconnect
applications.
