Resistance of outmost shell- and embedded-end contacts of single- and multi-bridged carbon nanotubes

Single-bridged (SB) and multi-bridged (MB) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were laterally grown between two electrodes capped on a thin nickel film, which functioned as catalysts. SB CNTs with outermost shell-end and embedded-end contacts on the electrodes showed varistor- or metal-like current-voltage (IV) characteristics. The devices were measured with fixed-amplitude AC superimposed on varying bias voltages. The MB CNTs contained both meal- and varistor-like CNTs, with the latter dominating the resistance at a higher bias. The results also imply that contact configuration significantly affects electrical interconnection.