- Cornell researchers develop niobium arsenide nanowires as a potential replacement for copper microchip interconnects.
- Niobium arsenide is a topological semimetal that improves conductivity as it gets thinner, unlike copper which degrades at nanoscale.
- The team used thermomechanical nanomolding to produce single-crystal nanowires with precise control down to 10 nanometers.
- This method allows rapid screening of materials, increasing synthesis throughput tenfold compared to previous techniques.
- Niobium arsenide remains robust and conductive at room temperature, making it a practical proof-of-concept for future quantum materials.