Novel Process for Fabricating Nanodevices Consisting of Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The microprocesses of nanotubes such as attachment, connection, transfer and welding have been demonstrated using a scanning electron microscope. These processes led us to fabricate nanotube devices such as probes used in scanning probe microscopy and diodes with homojunctions or heterojunctions. A tapping-mode atomic force microscope with nanotube probes images the fine structures of biological and industrial specimens. The measurements of electrical properties of the diode devices with homojunctions show no considerable disturbance in the carrier transport and a high current density of ∼10 7 A/cm 2 without power dissipation in the diodes. A diode with a double barrier heterojunction exhibits a switching property with the onset voltage of ±1.9 V. These properties suggest that the nanotubes used in the diodes are semiconducting.