Present and future prospects of carbon nanotube interconnects for energy efficient integrated circuits

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to their unique mechanical, thermal and electrical properties are being investigated as promising candidate material for on-chip and off-chip interconnects. The attractive mechanical properties of CNTs, including high Youngs modulus, resiliency and low thermal expansion coefficient offer great advantage for reliable and strong interconnects, and even more so for on-chip and off-chip integration. High bandwidth interconnects are required for achieving denser, faster and energy-efficient circuits. Due to their unique properties, CNTs present an opportunity to address the current challenges of copper interconnects and provide solutions for reliable efficient and smart system integration. In this work, we give an overview on the current advancements on CNT interconnects and the future prospects for energy efficient integration.