Contact resistance between metal and carbon nanotube interconnects: Effect of work function and wettability

The contact resistance of 14 different electrode metals with the work function between 3.9 and 5.7 eV has been investigated for carbon nanotube (CNT) interconnects. We observed that the contact resistance was mainly influenced by the two following parameters: the wettability and the work function difference of electrode metal to CNT. Ti, Cr, and Fe with good wettability showed lower resistance than other metals. Furthermore, no dependence of the contact resistance on the work function difference has been observed. However, the contact resistance of Au, Pd, and Pt with poor wettability increased as the work function difference became larger.