Samsung reports that it has developed two-dimensional amorphous boron nitride with properties that make the material suitable as an insulator for chip interconnects. A layer of the material could well prevent electrical disturbance of interconnects.
Samsung has in its research the good insulation properties of two-dimensional amorphous boron nitride demonstrated and also demonstrated that the material can be grown on a wafer scale, at a relatively low temperature of 400 degrees Celsius. The company believes that the material will therefore be widely used for dram and nand, although the company acknowledges that there are still challenges for its application in semiconductor manufacturing processes.
The research is important for the further reduction of chip structures, and in particular for a further reduction in the size of the interconnects. These are the metal lines that connect the different parts on a chip surface. For efficient transmission of the signal, the interconnects must be shielded against external electrical interference.
De IEEE International Roadmap for Devices and Systems for the semiconductor industry states that by 2028, material with a dielectric value less than 2 is required. Only with this will the interconnects keep pace with the miniaturization of the electronics. Samsung reports that its amorphous boron nitride has a dielectric value of 1.78.
Samsung reports making amorphous boron nitride with a thickness of 3 nanometers on the basis of ‘white graphene’. White graphene is also a two-dimensional material of boron and nitrogen atoms, but with this material they are arranged in a hexagonal or honeycomb structure. Samsung’s 2d material is amorphous or without a crystalline structure.
Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology publishes its research in the scientific journal Nature under the title Ultralow-dielectric-constant amorphous boron nitride.
–
