Carbon nanotube/solder hybrid structure for interconnect applications

A carbon nanotube (CNT)/Solder hybrid bump structure is proposed in this work in order to overcome the drawbacks of high CNT resistivity while retaining the advantages of CNTs in terms of interconnect reliability. Lithographically defined hollow CNT moulds are grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD). The space inside the CNT moulds is filled up with Sn-Au-Cu (SAC) solder spheres of around 10 μm in diameter. This CNT/Solder hybrid material is then reflowed and transferred onto target indium coated substrate. The reflow melts the small solder spheres into large single solder balls thus forming a hybrid interconnect bump together with the surrounding densified CNT walls, which the CNT and the solder serve as resistors in parallel. The electrical resistance of such a CNT/Solder structure is measured to be around 6 folds lower than pure CNT bumps.