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Published on: February 2, 2012
High-field electrical transport in single-wall carbon nanotubes
1Department of Applied Physics and DIMES, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands.
Physical Review Letters
|October 6, 2000
Summary
Metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes exhibit high current densities exceeding 10^9 A/cm^2. Electron scattering, primarily due to phonon emission, causes a dramatic drop in conductance at high fields.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Materials science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are promising nanomaterials for electronic applications.
- Understanding their high-field transport properties is crucial for device design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure the intrinsic high-field electrical transport properties of metallic SWCNTs.
- To identify the dominant electron scattering mechanisms limiting current density.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of devices with low-resistance electrical contacts to individual SWCNTs.
- Measurement of current-voltage (I-V) characteristics under high bias conditions.
Main Results:
- SWCNTs demonstrated exceptionally high current-carrying densities, surpassing 10^9 A/cm^2.
- A significant decrease in conductance was observed with increasing bias voltage.
- The I-V characteristics were explained by electron scattering via optical or zone-boundary phonon emission.
Conclusions:
- Metallic SWCNTs possess remarkable current densities.
- Phonon emission is identified as the primary mechanism limiting high-field transport in SWCNTs.
- These findings are critical for advancing SWCNT-based electronic devices.
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