LAUSR

One of the most appealing properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) interconnects is the possibility of exhibiting, under certain circumstances, a negative temperature coefficient of the electrical resistance, i.e., a resistance that decreases as temperature increases. In the past, this behavior has been theoretically predicted and experimentally observed, but only for a certain class of CNTs, with short lengths (up to some micrometers) and in a limited range of temperature. This paper demonstrates the possibility of obtaining such a desirable behavior in a larger scale (up to fractions of millimeters). An accurate electrothermal model is used to define the conditions under which a negative derivative of the resistance may be observed. Then, a novel bottom–up technique is proposed to realize the interconnect, by self-assembly of short CNTs. The experimental results of an electrothermal characterization demonstrate the possibility of obtaining a negative temperature coefficient of the resistance and confirm the validity of the theoretical model.