High-rate low-temperature growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

NG Shang, YY Tan, V Stolojan, P Papakonstantinou, SRP Silva

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)
160 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We report the low-temperature growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) at high growth rates by a photo-thermal chemical vapour deposition (PTCVD) technique using a Ti/Fe bilayer film as the catalyst. The bulk growth temperature of the substrate is as low as 370 °C and the growth rate is up to 1.3 µm min − 1, at least eight times faster than the values reported by traditional thermal CVD methods. Transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that as-grown CNTs are uniformly made of highly crystalline 5–6 graphene shells with an approximately 10 nm outer diameter and a 5–6 nm inner diameter. The low-temperature rapid growth of CNTs is strongly related to the unique top-down heating mode of PTCVD and the use of a Ti/Fe bimetallic solid solution catalyst. The present study will advance the development of CNTs as interconnects in nanoelectronics, through a CMOS-compatible low-temperature deposition method suitable for back-end-of-line processes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)505604
JournalNanotechnology
Volume21
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 23 Nov 2010

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'High-rate low-temperature growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this