Samsung patents graphene wires for faster, thinner chips
This patent describes a method for building electrical connections inside computer chips using graphene, a material made of single-atom-thick carbon sheets. The design places this graphene wire inside a narrow groove and coats it with a thin metal layer to protect it and help it connect to other parts of the circuit.
In the filing’s own words
An interconnect structure may include a dielectric layer including a trench, a conductive wiring including graphene filling an inside of the trench, and a liner layer in contact with at least one surface of the conductive wiring and including a metal.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An interconnect structure comprising: a dielectric layer including a trench; a conductive wiring disposed in the trench, the conductive wiring including graphene; and a liner layer contacting at least one surface of the conductive wiring, the liner layer including a metal, wherein a width of the trench in a first direction through the graphene of the conductive wiring is equal to a sum of a width of a first portion of the liner layer, a width of the graphene in the conductive wiring, and a width of a second portion of the liner layer, the first portion of the liner layer and the second portion of the liner layer are on opposite sides of the conductive wiring, and the width of the graphene in the conductive wiring corresponds to a thickness of the graphene in the first direction.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- Interconnect structure and electronic device including the same
- Patent number
- US12751281B2
- Application number
- 18158233
- Filed
- Jan 23, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 29, 2026
- Inventors
- 7
- Claims
- 18
Classified under
H10W 20/4462 Electricity & electronicsH10W 20/43 Electricity & electronicsH10W 20/4405 Electricity & electronicsH10W 20/4421 Electricity & electronicsH10W 20/4432 Electricity & electronicsH10W 20/4441 Electricity & electronicsMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
- Samsung patents chip that combines camera and screen Oct 13, 2026
- Samsung patents faster chip testing using machine learning Sep 1, 2026
- Samsung patents radar method to pinpoint target direction more accurately Sep 1, 2026
- Samsung patents memory chip that searches data by content, not address Sep 1, 2026
- Samsung patents chip design that skips empty data to speed up AI Sep 1, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.