Atmospheric microplasma-sputtered micro and nanowires for advanced THz interconnects

Abstract

We report the fabrication and characterization of micro and nanowires for THz interconnects using a novel atmospheric pressure microsputterer. Wires with diameter between 400 nm and 80 μm were conformally coated with a continuous, hundreds-of-nm thick, mechanically strong gold film without requiring vacuum, a specialized atmosphere, or rotating/flipping over the wire. Electrical resistivities as low as 14 $\mu\Omega-\mathrm{m}$ were measured-compatible with THz-level signals.