Lateral conduction within CNT-based planar microcoils on silicon substrate

Abstract

Electrodeposition of copper in high aspect ratio (HAR) trenches has always been a challenging step in the fabrication of on-chip microcoils. In contrast, CNTs can be easily grown even in HAR trenches but have an anisotropic behaviour, viz. with large electrical conductivity only along the CNT length. A new hetero-structure consisting of graphite-fused CNTs solves this problem by providing lateral current conduction. This paper reports on-chip planar micro-coils made from the CNT-graphitic heterostructures in HAR trenches and their electrical characterization.