Carbon nanotube growth on a pointed bulk electrode using femtosecond laser nonlinear lithography

Carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles were synthesized on pointed bulk electrodes using femtosecond laser nonlinear lithography. A resist mask of 1.5 μm diameter was formed on a pointed bulk cathode by translating a laser focus three-dimensionally inside the spherical photoresist. Metal masks obtained by pattern transfers of the resists effectively suppressed CNT growth during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, resulting in synthesis of CNT bundles only at the electrode tip. Irradiation of field emission currents from the pointed cathode enables local melting and subsequent removal of anode materials. The damaged region size and the threshold voltage for this removal process were reduced by spatial limitations of emission sites using the metal mask.