Electrical Properties of Cu Nanowires

Copper nanowires were patterned with e-beam lithography and fabricated with an e-beam evaporated Cu film. Electrical properties, including resistivity and temperature coefficient of resistance, were characterized for Cu nanowires with a width range of 90 nm to 330 nm. It was experimentally found that the surface and size have apparent influence on the electrical properties. The measured resistivity of the Cu nanowires was found to be size dependent, which was in good agreement with the theoretical models. In addition, smaller values of the temperature coefficient of resistance were experimentally found as the wire width decreases for the Cu nanowires. The size dependent nature of the temperature coefficient of resistance was attributed to the surface and size effects based on the further demonstrative analysis.