Article: Horizontally suspended carbon nanotube bundles patterned on silicon trench sidewalls Journal: International Journal of Nanotechnology (IJNT) 2014 Vol.11 No.1/2/3/4 pp.222 - 229 Abstract: The strong interaction between horizontally aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the growth substrate has long been impeding the application of CNTs in micro/nano electronics, the shape and dimension of densely packed CNT bundles are also highly desirable in interconnects and sensor applications. In this paper, we report a method to grow horizontally suspended carbon nanotube (HSCNT) bundles patterned on selected silicon trench sidewalls. Semiconductor microfabrication technologies were employed to prepare the growth substrate, and the key process is to pattern an iron (Fe) catalyst layer onto selected silicon trench sidewalls via a shadow mask placed on top of silicon trenches by the tilted electron beam evaporation technique. The CNT growth process was conducted in a conventional thermal chemical vapour deposition (TCVD) furnace. The resultant CNTs are densely packed in bundles with very good horizontal alignment, their interactions with the silicon trench bottom are negligible since they are horizontally suspended from desired trench sidewalls. On the other hand, the dimension and shape of these HSCNT bundles were determined by the CNT growth duration, the deposition direction of the Fe catalyst relative to the substrate, and the open windows in the shadow mask. These results will facilitate the application of CNTs in micro/nano electronics. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Horizontally suspended carbon nanotube bundles patterned on silicon trench sidewalls

Authors: Jingyu Lu; Jianmin Miao

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore ' School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

Abstract: The strong interaction between horizontally aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the growth substrate has long been impeding the application of CNTs in micro/nano electronics, the shape and dimension of densely packed CNT bundles are also highly desirable in interconnects and sensor applications. In this paper, we report a method to grow horizontally suspended carbon nanotube (HSCNT) bundles patterned on selected silicon trench sidewalls. Semiconductor microfabrication technologies were employed to prepare the growth substrate, and the key process is to pattern an iron (Fe) catalyst layer onto selected silicon trench sidewalls via a shadow mask placed on top of silicon trenches by the tilted electron beam evaporation technique. The CNT growth process was conducted in a conventional thermal chemical vapour deposition (TCVD) furnace. The resultant CNTs are densely packed in bundles with very good horizontal alignment, their interactions with the silicon trench bottom are negligible since they are horizontally suspended from desired trench sidewalls. On the other hand, the dimension and shape of these HSCNT bundles were determined by the CNT growth duration, the deposition direction of the Fe catalyst relative to the substrate, and the open windows in the shadow mask. These results will facilitate the application of CNTs in micro/nano electronics.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; CNT bundles; horizontal suspension; silicon trench sidewalls; nanoelectronics; nanotechnology; semiconductor microfabrication; microelectronics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2014.059824

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2014 Vol.11 No.1/2/3/4, pp.222 - 229

Published online: 15 Nov 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article

Title: Horizontally suspended carbon nanotube bundles patterned on silicon trench sidewalls

Keep up-to-date