The effect of the geometry and material properties of a carbon joint produced by electronbeam induced deposition on the electrical resistance of a multiwalled carbonnanotube-to-metal contact interface

Abstract

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are promising candidates for yielding nextgeneration electrical and electronic devices such as interconnects and tips for conductiveforce microscopy. One of the main challenges in MWNT implementation in such devices isthe high contact resistance of the MWNT–metal electrode interface. Electron beam induceddeposition (EBID) of an amorphous carbon interface has previously been demonstrated tosimultaneously lower the electrical contact resistance and improve the mechanicalcharacteristics of the MWNT–electrode connection. In this work, we investigate theinfluence of process parameters, such as the electron beam energy, current, geometry, anddeposition time, on the EBID-made carbon joint geometry and electrical contact resistance.The influence of the composition of the deposited material on its resistivity is alsoinvestigated. The relative importance of each component of the contact resistance and thelimiting factor of the overall electrical resistance of a MWNT-based interconnect isdetermined through a combination of a model analysis and comprehensive experiments.