Skin and proximity effects modeling in micro-wires based on carbon nanotube bundles

Micro-wires consisting of bundles of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) having rectangular cross-section above a PEC ground plane are simulated in the high-frequency range. The bundles are modelled as homogeneous conductors characterized by an a.c. effective conductivity given by the Drude frequency dependent expression. The per-unit-length (p.u.l.) impedance is extracted by using the partial-element equivalent circuit (PEEC) approach. Applications to SWCNT-based micro-wires having different configurations are carried out for frequencies up to 10³ GHz. Both skin and proximity effects are analysed. The computed frequency spectra of the p.u.l. effective resistance and inductance remain practically constant for frequencies above 100-200 GHz. The comparison with the high-frequency behaviour of copper micro-wires highlights the saturation effect of the SWCNTs bundles.