Low Resistivity and High Breakdown Current Density of 10 nm Diameter van der Waals TaSe₃ Nanowires by Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Abstract

Micron-scale single-crystal nanowires of metallic TaSe₃, a material that forms -Ta-Se₃-Ta-Se₃- stacks separated from one another by a tubular van der Waals (vdW) gap, have been synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a SiO₂/Si substrate, in a process compatible with semiconductor industry requirements. Their electrical resistivity was found unaffected by downscaling from the bulk to as little as 7 nm in nanowire width and height, in striking contrast to the resistivity of copper for the same dimensions. While the bulk resistivity of TaSe₃ is substantially higher than that of bulk copper, at the nanometer scale the TaSe₃ wires become competitive to similar-sized copper ones. Moreover, we find that the vdW TaSe₃ nanowires sustain current densities in excess of 10⁸ A/cm² and feature an electromigration energy barrier twice that of copper. The results highlight the promise of quasi-one-dimensional transition metal trichalcogenides for electronic interconnect applications and the potential of van der Waals materials for downscaled electronics.