Bilayer Graphene System: Current-Induced Reliability Limit

We investigate the key reliability limiting factors of bilayer graphene (BLG) under current stressing by examining the breakdown characteristics of BLG with chemical-mechanical planarization copper contacts. It is observed that dc current-induced thermal annealing helps to reduce the BLG-to-Cu contact resistance. Breakdown occurs with two noticeably different failure modes depending on local stressing current level, while copper contact damage dominates in scaled structure. The measured linear dependence of breakdown current on graphene width/length aspect ratio suggests Joule heating as the primary breakdown mechanism.