Computing ab-initio inductances of chiral one-dimensional van der Waals wires

The rapid miniaturization of electronic devices, down to the nanometer scale, has been instrumental in increasing the computing power of our electronic devices. As we approach the fundamental physical bottlenecks of conventional materials, such as silicon and copper, that have underpinned the progress over the past decade, we seek material alternatives that can deliver better performance at the nanometer or even angstrom scale. In this work, we further our study of a new class of chiral, one-dimensional van der Waals (vdW)-bonded wires that exhibit strong covalent bonding along their helical-like backbone and address whether they could behave as the smallest possible inductors. We derive a first-principles procedure, based on density-functional theory and many-body perturbation theory, to compute the macroscopic inductance from the microscopic distribution of induced electric fields and currents. Upon application of an electric field along the wire's direction, we observe an induced, transverse current response, leading to in-plane currents that can generate large magnetic fields along the wire axis. We derive a formalism to compute the inductance in these periodic systems, enabling us to predict it from first principles. Our results, to our knowledge, present the first ab initio computation of inductance in these wire geometries. These promising theoretical results highlight the viability of these materials as future on-chip nanoiductors.