Exploring Transition Metal Passivated Graphene Nanoribbon as Interconnect: Ti, Ag and Au Perspectives

The paper analyzes the significance of using transition metals (TM) for edge and centre passivation in armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs), focusing on interconnect applications. The transition metals considered in this study are Titanium (Ti), Silver (Ag) and Gold (Au). It is observed that the TM passivated AGNRs exhibit exceptional electronic and transport properties compared to AGNRs passivated with hydrogen at the edges. A comprehensive first principle analysis is conducted using density functional theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green function technique. To reach a conclusion to propose the best possible passivating material, we examined various parameters such as binding energy, E-k diagram, density of states (DOS), transmission spectrum and current-voltage characteristics in the TM passivated AGNRs configuration. We have found that TM passivation on both sides of the AGNR structure yields better results than single-sided and centre passivation. Among all three transition metals studied, Ti exhibits the highest current when used in double-sided passivated AGNR, making it best suited for interconnect application.