806 research outputs found
Strong correlation effects in single-wall carbon nanotubes
We present an overview of strong correlations in single-wall carbon
nanotubes, and an introduction to the techniques used to study them
theoretically. We concentrate on zigzag nanotubes, although universality
dictates that much ofthe theory can also be applied to armchair or chiral
nanotubes. We show how interaction effects lead to exotic low energy properties
and discuss future directions for studies on correlation effects in nanotubes
Luttinger liquid behavior in multi-wall carbon nanotubes
The low-energy theory for multi-wall carbon nanotubes including the
long-ranged Coulomb interactions, internal screening effects, and
single-electron hopping between graphite shells is derived and analyzed by
bosonization methods. Characteristic Luttinger liquid power laws are found for
the tunneling density of states, with exponents approaching their Fermi liquid
value only very slowly as the number of conducting shells increases. With minor
modifications, the same conclusions apply to transport in ropes of single-wall
nanotubes.Comment: 4 pages Revte
Subband population in a single-wall carbon nanotube diode
We observe current rectification in a molecular diode consisting of a
semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotube and an impurity. One half of the
nanotube has no impurity, and it has a current-voltage (I-V) charcteristic of a
typical semiconducting nanotube. The other half of the nanotube has the
impurity on it, and its I-V characteristic is that of a diode. Current in the
nanotube diode is carried by holes transported through the molecule's
one-dimensional subbands. At 77 Kelvin we observe a step-wise increase in the
current through the diode as a function of gate voltage, showing that we can
control the number of occupied one-dimensional subbands through electrostatic
doping.Comment: to appear in Physical Review Letters. 4 pages & 3 figure
Electronic Properties of Armchair Carbon Nanotubes : Bosonization Approach
The phase Hamiltonian of armchair carbon nanotubes at half-filling and away
from it is derived from the microscopic lattice model by taking the long range
Coulomb interaction into account. We investigate the low energy properties of
the system using the renormalization group method. At half-filling, the ground
state is a Mott insulator with spin gap, in which the bound states of electrons
at different atomic sublattices are formed. The difference from the recent
results [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 5082 (1997)] away half-filling is clarified.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Revte
Role of Single Defects in Electronic Transport through Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistors
The influence of defects on electron transport in single-wall carbon nanotube
field effect transistors (CNFETs) is probed by combined scanning gate
microscopy (SGM) and scanning impedance microscopy (SIM). SGM reveals a
localized field effect at discrete defects along the CNFET length. The
depletion surface potential of individual defects is quantified from the
SGM-imaged radius of the defect as a function of tip bias voltage. This
provides a measure of the Fermi level at the defect with zero tip voltage,
which is as small as 20 meV for the strongest defects. The effect of defects on
transport is probed by SIM as a function of backgate and tip-gate voltage. When
the backgate voltage is set so the CNFET is "on" (conducting), SIM reveals a
uniform potential drop along its length, consistent with diffusive transport.
In contrast, when the CNFET is "off", potential steps develop at the position
of depleted defects. Finally, high-resolution imaging of a second set of weak
defects is achieved in a new "tip-gated" SIM mode.Comment: to appear in Physical Review Letter
High-Field Electrical Transport in Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes
Using low-resistance electrical contacts, we have measured the intrinsic
high-field transport properties of metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes.
Individual nanotubes appear to be able to carry currents with a density
exceeding 10^9 A/cm^2. As the bias voltage is increased, the conductance drops
dramatically due to scattering of electrons. We show that the current-voltage
characteristics can be explained by considering optical or zone-boundary phonon
emission as the dominant scattering mechanism at high field.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure
Disorder, pseudospins, and backscattering in carbon nanotubes
We address the effects of disorder on the conducting properties of metal and
semiconducting carbon nanotubes. Experimentally, the mean free path is found to
be much larger in metallic tubes than in doped semiconducting tubes. We show
that this result can be understood theoretically if the disorder potential is
long-ranged. The effects of a pseudospin index that describes the internal
sublattice structure of the states lead to a suppression of scattering in
metallic tubes, but not in semiconducting tubes. This conclusion is supported
by tight-binding calculations.Comment: four page
Quantum Conductance Steps in Solutions of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
We have prepared solutions of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in Aroclor 1254, a
mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls. The solutions are stable at room
temperature. Transport measurements were performed using a scanning--tunneling
probe on a sample prepared by spin--coating of the solution on gold substrates.
Conductance steps were clearly seen. An histogram of a high number of traces
shows maximum peaks at integer values of the conductance quantum , demonstrating ballistic transport at room temperature along the carbon
nanotube over distances longer than .Comment: 4 pages and 2 figure
Carbon nanotube four-terminal devices for pressure sensing applications
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are of high interest for sensing applications,owing to their superior mechanical strength, high Young’s modulus and low density. In this work, we report on a facile approach for the fabrication of carbon nanotube devices using a four terminal configuration. Oriented carbon nanotube films were pulled out from a CNT forest wafer and then twisted into a yarn. Both the CNT film and yarn were arranged on elastomer membranes/diaphragms which were arranged on a laser cut acrylic frame to form pressure sensors. The sensors were calibrated using a precisely controlled pressure system, showing a large change of the output voltage of approximately 50 mV at a constant supply current of 100 μA and under a low applied pressure of 15 mbar. The results indicate the high potential of using CNT films and yarns for pressure sensing applications
Current carrying capacity of carbon nanotubes
The current carrying capacity of ballistic electrons in carbon nanotubes that
are coupled to ideal contacts is analyzed. At small applied voltages, where
electrons are injected only into crossing subbands, the differential
conductance is . At applied voltages larger than
( is the energy level spacing of first non crossing subbands),
electrons are injected into non crossing subbands. The contribution of these
electrons to current is determined by the competing processes of Bragg
reflection and Zener type inter subband tunneling. In small diameter nanotubes,
Bragg reflection dominates, and the maximum differential conductance is
comparable to . Inter subband Zener tunneling can be non negligible as
the nanotube diameter increases because is inversely
proportional to the diameter. As a result, with increasing nanotube diameter,
the differential conductance becomes larger than , though not
comparable to the large number of subbands into which electrons are injected
from the contacts. These results may be relevant to recent experiments in large
diameter multi-wall nanotubes that observed conductances larger than .Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
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