Disorder-induced electron localization in metallic carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Anderson localization in carbon nanotubes has been studied using the transfer matrix method. A new method was developed for which transfer matrices could be obtained for both chiral and achiral tubes. The localization length scales linearly with the tube diameter but shows no dependence on tube chirality. The conductance in the nanotubes can be significantly altered by functionalization, an effect that could make them applicable as sensors.