Electrically conductive laminate structures
View Patent ↗Some embodiments include electrical interconnects. The interconnects may contain laminate structures having a graphene region sandwiched between non-graphene regions. In some embodiments the graphene and non-graphene regions may be nested within one another. In some embodiments an electrically insulative material may be over an upper surface of the laminate structure, and an opening may extend through the insulative material to a portion of the laminate structure. Electrically conductive material may be within the opening and in electrical contact with at least one of the non-graphene regions of the laminate structure. Some embodiments include methods of forming electrical interconnects in which non-graphene material and graphene are alternately formed within a trench to form nested non-graphene and graphene regions.
1. An electrical interconnect, comprising:
an electrically conductive laminate structure; the laminate structure comprising multiple regions nested within one another; one of said nested regions being a graphene region and others of the nested regions being non-graphene regions; the graphene region being sandwiched between a pair of non-graphene regions; the laminate structure comprising an uppermost surface that contains segments of the graphene region and of the non-graphene regions; at least one of the non-graphene regions being electrically conductive;
an electrically insulative material over the upper surface of the laminate structure, and having an opening extending therethrough to a portion of the laminate structure; said portion differing from other portions of the laminate structure by having space between the pair of non-graphene regions instead of having graphene between the non-graphene regions; and
electrically conductive material within the opening and within the space.
2. The electrical interconnect of claim 1 wherein said at least one of the non-graphene regions comprises one or both of copper and nickel.
3. The electrical interconnect of claim 1 the electrically conductive material comprises at least one metal.
4. A method of forming an electrical interconnect, comprising:
forming an electrically conductive laminate structure; the laminate structure comprising multiple regions nested within one another; one of said nested regions being a graphene region and others of the nested regions being non-graphene regions; the graphene region being sandwiched between a pair of non-graphene regions; the laminate structure comprising an uppermost surface that contains segments of the graphene region and of the non-graphene regions; at least one of the non-graphene regions being electrically conductive;
forming an electrically insulative material over the upper surface of the laminate structure;
forming an opening extending through the insulative material to the upper surface of the laminate structure;
extending the opening at least partially through the laminate structure; and
forming electrically conductive material within the opening.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein opening is extended entirely through the laminate structure.
6. The method of claim 4 wherein opening is extended only partially through the laminate structure.
7. The method of claim 4 wherein both of said non-graphene regions are electrically conductive.
8. The method of claim 4 wherein only one of said non-graphene regions is electrically conductive.