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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Fabrication, Densification, and Replica Molding of 3D Carbon Nanotube Microstructures
Published on: July 2, 2012
Shrinking a carbon nanotube
T D Yuzvinsky1, W Mickelson, S Aloni
1Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, 94720, USA.
Abstract:
We report a method to controllably alter the diameter of an individual carbon nanotube. The combination of defect formation via electron irradiation and simultaneous resistive heating and electromigration in vacuum causes the nanotube to continuously transform into a high-quality nanotube of successively smaller diameter, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. The process can be halted at any diameter. Electronic transport measurements performed in situ reveal a striking dependence of conductance on nanotube geometry. As the diameter of the nanotube is reduced to near zero into the carbon chain regime, we observe negative differential resistance.
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