Theoretical study of the performance for short channel carbon nanotube transistors with asymmetric contacts

We have simulated short channel carbon nanotube field-effect transistors with asymmetric source and drain contacts using a coupled mode space approach within the non-equilibrium Green's function framework. The simulated results show that the asymmetric conduction properties under positive and negative drain-to-source voltages are caused by the asymmetric Schottky barriers to carriers at the source and drain contacts. Under negative drain-to-source voltages, hole and electron conduction are dominated by thermionic emission and tunneling through the Schottky barrier, respectively, leading to the different subthreshold behaviors of the hole and electron conduction. With increasing channel length, short channel effects can be suppressed effectively and ON/OFF ratio can be improved.     

Electrical transport characteristic of carbon nanotube after mass-separated ultra-low-energy oxygen ion beams irradiation

Mass-separated ultra-low-energy oxygen ion beams were irradiated to the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) under an ultra-high-vacuum pressure of 10⁻⁷ Pa for the purpose of achieving n-type conduction of nanotubes. The ion beam energy was 25 eV, which was close to the displacement energy of graphite. The incident angle of the ion beam was normal to the target nanotube. The ion dose ranged from 3.3 × 10¹¹ to 3.8 × 10¹² ions/cm². The structure of SWCNTs after the ion irradiation was investigated. The CNTs still have a clear single-walled structure after the ion irradiation. The graphite structure is distorted and some defects are induced in the nanotube by the oxygen irradiation. The oxygen ions with the ion energy of 25 eV are irradiated to the field effect transistor (FET) device with the nanotube channel. The n-type characteristic appears upon the oxygen ion irradiation, and the device exhibits ambipolar behavior. The defects induced by the ion irradiation may act as the n-type dopants.     

The dynamics simulation of Ne atom injected into single-wall carbon nanotube

The dynamical processes of Ne atom injected into single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) are modeled with molecular dynamics simulations. The threshold energies to encapsulate rare-gas atoms in SWCNT are presented. The range of tube radius for stable oscillation is revealed, which is independent of the type of carbon nanotubes. And the oscillatory frequency is sensitive to the change in the diameter, the length and chirality of the tube.     

Synthesis and field emission properties of carbon nanotubes grown in ethanol flame based on a photoresist-assisted catalyst annealing process

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been grown directly on a Si substrate without a diffusion barrier in ethanol diffusion flame using Ni as the catalyst after a photoresist-assisted catalyst annealing process. The growth mechanism of as-synthesized CNTs is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission-electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The photoresist is the key for the formation of active catalyst particles during annealing process, which then result in the growth of CNTs. The catalyst annealing temperature has been found to affect the morphologies and field electron emission properties of CNTs significantly. The field emission properties of as-grown CNTs are investigated with a diode structure and the obtained CNTs exhibit enhanced characteristics. This technique will be applicable to a low-cost fabrication process of electron-emitter arrays.     

Structure and electronic properties of a heterojunction between a single wall carbon nanotube and a TiC cluster

Atomic structures and electronic properties of heterojunctions of Ti-TiC and TiC-single wall carbon nanotube, Ti₄₈-Ti₁₉C₂₆ and Ti₁₉C₂₄-C₃₀, are studied by the first principles calculation based on the density functional theory. At the junctions, these substrates are smoothly connected with each other and keep their original structures and electronic properties. The structures of the junctions obtained in the present work give a realistic model to ab initio study for electronic transport properties through the junction of a carbon nanotube and an electrode.     

Free vibration of a single-walled carbon nanotube containing a fluid flow using the Timoshenko beam model

The flexural vibration of the fluid-conveying single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) is derived by the Timoshenko beam model, including rotary inertia and transverse shear deformation. The effects of the flow velocity and the aspect ratio of length to diameter on the vibration frequency and mode shape of the SWCNT are analyzed. Results show that the effects of rotary inertia and transverse shear deformation result in a reduction of the vibration frequencies, especially for higher modes of vibration and short nanotubes. The frequency is also compared with the previous study based on Euler beam model. In addition, if the ratio of length to diameter increased to 60, the influence of the shear deformation and rotary inertia on the mode shape and the resonant frequencies can be neglected. However, the influence is very obvious when the ratio decreased to 20. As the flow velocity of the fluid increases in the vicinity of 2π, the SWCNT reveals the divergence instability. It regains stability when the flow velocity reaches about 9. As the velocity increases further, the SWCNT undergoes a coupled-mode flutter and results in a larger amplitude.     

Evaluations of carbon nanotube field emitters for electron microscopy

Brightness of carbon nanotube (CNT) emitters was already reported elsewhere. However, brightness of electron emitter is affected by a virtual source size of the emitter, which strongly depends on electron optical configuration around the emitter. In this work, I-V characteristics and brightness of a CNT emitter are measured under a practical field emission electron gun (e-gun) configuration to investigate availability of CNT for electron microscopy. As a result, it is obtained that an emission area of MWNT is smaller than its tip surface area, and the emission area corresponds to a five-membered-ring with 2nd nearest six-membered-rings on the MWNT cap surface. Reduced brightness of MWNT is measured as at least 2.6×10⁹ A/m² sr V. It is concluded that even a thick MWNT has enough brightness under a practical e-gun electrode configuration and suitable for electron microscopy.     

Shot noise in a quantum dot coupled to carbon nanotube terminals applied with a microwave field

We have investigated the spectral density of shot noise for the system of a quantum dot (QD) coupled to two single-wall carbon nanotube terminals irradiated with a microwave field on the QD. The terminal features are involved in the shot noise through modifying the self-energy of QD. The contributions of carbon nanotube terminals to the shot noise exhibit obvious behaviors. The novel side peaks are associated with the photon absorption and emission procedure accompanying the suppression of shot noise. The shot noise in balanced absorption belongs to sub-Poissonian, and it is symmetric with respect to the gate voltage. The differential shot noise displays intimate relation with the nature of carbon nanotubes and the applied microwave field. It exhibits asymmetric behavior for the unbalanced absorption case versus gate voltage. The Fano factor of the system exhibits the deviation of shot noise from the Schottky formula, and the structures of terminals obviously contribute to it. The super-Poissonian and sub-Poissonian shot noise can be achieved in the unbalanced absorption in different regime of source-drain bias.     

Synthesis and Raman scattering study of double-walled carbon nanotube peapods

Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) encapsulating C₆₀ fullerenes were successfully synthesized by gas phase diffusion method. The obtained peapods were examined using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The HRTEM images indicate that the ordered packing phases of fullerene molecules inside are sensitively related to the inner-tube radius of DWNTs. Also, Raman measurements were carried out for the first time to characterize DWNTs peapods. There are obvious differences between the Raman spectrum of DWNTs peapods and that of SWNTs peapods. The intensities of resonances from C₆₀ in the former are much stronger than those in the latter. In addition, changes of tangential mode (TM) and radial breathing mode (RBM) of DWNTs after C₆₀ doping were observed. The possible reasons are discussed in the text.     

The role of defects in chemical sensing properties of carbon nanotube films

The electrical resistance of 24 different carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film samples in blowing ambient air and 10 different analyte vapor environments was measured. The effects of the CNT growth method, different chemical treatments, ball milling, sample preparation conditions and Ar⁺-ion irradiation are compared. Significant differences in the response signal curves as a function of time in the case of the studied sensor/vapor combinations show the important role of the defect structure and attached functional groups in the chemical sensing properties of CNTs.     

Specific heat of super carbon nanotube and its chirality independence

The specific heat of the super carbon nanotube (ST) was investigated by the molecular structure mechanics method. At given temperature, it was found that the specific heat of the ST is a fixed value and is almost independent both of the length, diameter and of chirality of the ST. By comparing the influences of the chirality of the ST on its mechanical properties, electronic properties and thermal properties as well, we find that the chirality effects on the physical properties of STs can be neglected. This result may be regarded as a universal law for the physical properties of STs.     

Kinetics and equilibrium of small metallic clusters: Ab initio confinement molecular dynamics study of 4

The ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) [1] is combined with the heuristic, successive confinement method of surveying a potential energy surface (PES) [2], thereby offering a framework for the simulation study of kinetics and equilibrium properties of metallic clusters. This approach is applied to the study of Au₄, a cluster possessing a simple but specific PES, which consists of very shallow and deep basins and due to this presents a challenge to the conventional AIMD methods. Among other things, the probabilities of the transitions between isomers have been found, and on this basis, both the time-dependent and equilibrium populations of the isomers have been calculated for the conditions typical of the NeNePo experiments [3] in the femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.     

Magnetic properties of core-shell catalyst nanoparticles for carbon nanotube growth

Two types of core-shell nanoparticles have been prepared by laser pyrolysis using Fe(CO)₅ and C₂H₂ or [(CH₃)₃Si]₂O as precursors and C₂H₄ as sensitizer. The first type (about 4 nm diameter) - produced by the decomposition of Fe(CO)₅ in the presence of C₂H₄ and C₂H₂ - consists of Fe cores protected by graphenic layers. The second type (mean particle size of about 14 nm) consists also of Fe cores, yet covered by few nm thick γ-Fe₂O₃/porous polycarbosiloxane shells resulted from the [(CH₃)₃Si]₂O decomposition and superficial oxidation after air exposure. The hysteresis loops suggest a room temperature superparamagnetic behavior of the Fe-C nanopowder and a weak ferromagnetic one for larger particles in the Fe-Fe₂O₃-polymer sample. Both types of nanoparticles were finally used as a catalyst for the carbon nanotube growth by seeding Si(100) substrates via drop-casting method. CNTs were grown by Hot-Filament Direct.Current PE CVD technique from C₂H₂ and H₂ at 980 K. It is suggested that the increased density and orientation degree observed for the multiwall nanotubes grown from Fe-Fe₂O₃-polymer nanoparticles could be due to their magnetic behavior and surface composition.     

Complex permittivity and microwave absorption properties of carbon nanotubes/polymer composite: A numerical study

Based on an equivalent resistance-capacitance (RC) network, we investigate theoretically the complex permittivity and microwave absorption properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/polymer composite in the frequency range of 50 MHz-3 GHz using the logarithmic mixing rule. Both the real and imaginary parts of the permittivities of CNTs and polymer are considered in detail. The simulated results show that the real and imaginary permittivities of the composite increase explicitly with increasing volume fraction of CNTs, and the latter is more sensitive. The calculated complex permittivity spectra of the composite are in good agreement with the available experimental data. In addition, a good linear relationship between microwave absorbance and frequency is found.     

First-principles study for transport properties of defective carbon nanotubes with oxygen adsorption

Oxygen gas usually presents in carbon nanotube (CNT) based devices and can affect their transport properties. Here, we perform simulations for O₂ adsorption on a (5, 5) CNT with a double vacancy. We first use first-principles plane-wave calculation to optimize the structures and then use single-particle Green function method to study their transport properties. It is found that an O₂ can be either physisorbed or chemisorbed on the defective CNT. The physisorption has only minor effects on the transport while the chemisorption can improve it and the resulting conductance is affected by the orientation of the O₂ bonding.     

The spectrum of interacting metallic carbon nanotubes: exchange effects and universality

The low energy spectrum of finite size metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is determined. Starting from a tight binding model for the p_z electrons, we derive the low energy Hamiltonian containing all relevant scattering processes resulting from the Coulomb interaction, including the short ranged contributions becoming relevant for small diameter tubes. In combination with the substructure of the underlying honeycomb lattice the short ranged processes lead to various exchange effects. Using bosonization the spectrum is determined. We find that the ground state is formed by a spin 1 triplet, if 4n+2 electrons occupy the SWNT and the branch mismatch is smaller than the exchange splitting. Additionally, we calculate the excitation spectra for the different charge states and find the lifting of spin-charge separation as well as the formation of a quasi-continuum at higher excitation energies.     

Initial growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes on supported iron clusters: a molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the initial growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on a supported iron cluster (Fe₅₀). Statistical analysis shows that the growth direction of SWNTs becomes more perpendicular to the substrate over time due to the weak interaction between carbon nanotube and the substrate. The diameter of the nanotube also increases with the simulation time and approaches the size of the supported iron cluster.     

Combined experimental and theoretical DFT study of molecular nanowires negative differential resistance and interaction with gold clusters

Electric-field-assisted assembly has been used to place rod-shaped metal nanowires containing 4-[[2-nitro-4-(phenylethynyl) phenyl] ethynyl] benzenthiol molecules onto lithographically defined metal pads. These junctions exhibited negative differential resistance. The quantum chemical approach was used to compare the properties of Au-bonded 4-[[2-nitro-4-(phenylethynyl) phenyl] ethynyl] benzenthiol molecule and a molecule that does not exhibit the negative differential resistance, Au-bonded 4-[[4-(phenylethynyl) phenyl] ethynyl] benzenthiol. The influence of the static electric field and charge variation were modelled for both systems.     

Optical absorption of isolated silver cluster-tryptophan: A joint experimental and theoretical study

We present a joint experimental and theoretical gas phase study of photoabsorption and photofragmentation of silver cluster-biomolecule complexes. We demonstrate on the example of [ Trp.Ag₃] ⁺ that binding of the metal cluster to a biomolecule leads to a significant enhancement of the photoabsorption in comparison with [Trp.H]⁺ and [Trp.Ag]⁺. This enhancement arises due to the coupling between the excitations in the metallic subunit with charge transfer excitations between silver cluster and tryptophan. Our experimental studies show that silver clusters up to eleven atoms can be bound to tryptophan and we present first results on the photofragmentation of the Trp.Ag₁₁ ⁺ complex cation, in which properties of cluster subunit remain preserved.