A new technical paper, “Role of surface states and band modulations in ultrathin ruthenium interconnects,” was published by researchers at Incheon National University, Hanyang University and UT Dallas.
Abstract
“Mitigating the RC delay from transistor miniaturization is essential for next-generation devices, driving a focus on interconnect electrical performance. Current copper-based interconnects face a critical challenge, that their resistivity sharply increases at the nanometer-scale due to surface and grain boundary scattering. Therefore, there is a pressing need for techniques that reduce resistance in ultrathin metal films. In this study, we employ the density functional theory to investigate how the intrinsic electronic structure of thin films impacts conductivity as a function of thickness. Notably, our analysis of ruthenium slab structures shows that surface states significantly influence thickness-dependent resistivity. It reveals that vacuum-terminated Ru slab exhibits decreasing resistivity with the decrease in thickness, whereas oxygen-terminated Ru slab shows the opposite trend. This difference is fundamentally attributed to the presence or absence of surface states, highlighting the importance of surface engineering in optimizing interconnect performance.”
Find the technical paper here. March 2026.
Maeng, Gyungho, Subeen Lim, Mi Gyoung Lee, Bonggeun Shong, Kyeongjae Cho, and Yeonghun Lee. “Role of surface states and band modulations in ultrathin ruthenium interconnects.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.29174 (2026).