Carbon nanotubes as schottky barrier transistors

We show that carbon nanotube transistors operate as unconventional "Schottky barrier transistors," in which transistor action occurs primarily by varying the contact resistance rather than the channel conductance. Transistor characteristics are calculated for both idealized and realistic geometries, and scaling behavior is demonstrated. Our results explain a variety of experimental observations, including the quite different effects of doping and adsorbed gases. The electrode geometry is shown to be crucial for good device performance.     

Sawtooth faceting in silicon nanowires

We observe in situ the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of Si nanowires, in UHV-CVD using Au catalyst. The nanowire sidewalls exhibit periodic sawtooth faceting, reflecting an oscillatory growth process. We interpret the facet alternation as resulting from the interplay of the geometry and surface energies of the wire and liquid droplet. Such faceting may be present in any VLS growth system in which there are no stable orientations parallel to the growth direction. The sawtooth structure has important implications for electronic mobility and scattering in nanowire devices.     

Self-organized quantum-wire lattice via step flow growth of a short-period superlattice

We develop a theoretical model for step flow growth of multilayer films, taking into account the interlayer step-step interaction induced by misfit strain. We apply the model to simulate the growth of strain-compensated short-period superlattices. Step-bunch ordering improves in successive layers, leading to self-organized growth of a lattice of quantum wires. This quantum-wire array has some similarities to the "lateral composition modulation" observed experimentally in short-period superlattices.     

Origin of apparent critical thickness for island formation in heteroepitaxy

We find that a continuum model of heteroepitaxy exhibits a sharp crossover with increasing coverage, from planar growth to island formation. The "critical thickness" at which this Stranski-Krastanov transition occurs depends sensitively on misfit strain, with a dependence strikingly similar to that seen experimentally. The initial planar growth occurs because of intermixing of deposited material with the substrate. While the transition is strictly kinetic in nature, it depends only weakly on growth rate. The role of surface segregation is also discussed.     

Negative differential resistance in nanotube devices

Carbon nanotube junctions are predicted to exhibit negative differential resistance, with very high peak-to-valley current ratios even at room temperature. We treat both nanotube p-n junctions and undoped metal-nanotube-metal junctions, calculating quantum transport through the self-consistent potential within a tight-binding approximation. The undoped junctions in particular may be suitable for device integration.     

Adatom concentration on GaAs(001) during MBE annealing

We study the concentration of adatoms on GaAs(001) during annealing under MBE conditions. By rapidly cooling the sample from typical growth temperatures and typical As overpressures, the thermal concentration of adatoms can be frozen into small islands on the terraces. The area of the resulting islands is measured with STM far from terrace steps, giving an estimate of the concentration of adatoms during equilibrium. We find that a surprisingly large concentration of adatoms is present for typical growth temperatures, e.g. 0.18 monolayer at 600°C. Possible consequences for current growth models are discussed.