Effects of Dielectrophoretic Parameters on Fabrication and Electronic Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Device
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Effects of Dielectrophoretic Parameters on Fabrication and Electronic Properties of SingleWalled Carbon Nanotube Devices Lifeng Donga, Steven Youkeya, Jocelyn Bushb, Jennifer Loc, Jun Jiaoa a Department of Physics, b Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201 c Sunset High School, Portland, OR 97229 Valery M. Dubin, Ramanan V. Chebiam Components Research, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 ABSTRACT We recently developed a novel floating-potential dielectrophoretic method to selectively position individual single-walled carbon nanotubes between two floating electrodes while the bundles of nanotubes and impurities were attracted into the region between two control electrodes. In this study, we investigated effects of several process parameters including electric field distribution, electric field frequency, and solution media in order to understand the physical mechanisms of this dielectrophoretic process and to improve its efficiency. Results showed that both the magnitude and the direction of electrical force applied onto the nanotubes can be tailored by changing these process parameters. It was found that a 1 wt% sodium dodecyl sulfate in deionized water is an efficient solution for separating bundles of nanotubes into individual nanotubes and aligning individual nanotubes with a clean surface between two electrical contacts in comparison to N,N-dimethylformamide, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,1dichloromethane, ethanol, and isopropanol solutions. The fabricated carbon nanotube devices exhibit electronic properties comparable to nanotube transistors and interconnects fabricated by other methods. INTRODUCTION Due to their unique structural and electrical properties, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been extensively studied as building blocks for nanoscale electronics [1-4]. While a number of methods have been explored in order to disperse and purify bundles of nanotubes containing impurities such as catalyst particles and amorphous carbon debris, an effective method for producing a solution with well-dispersed, impurity-free individual nanotubes has not yet been developed. To position individual nanotubes onto pre-determined locations is the next hurdle that needs to be crossed if individual nanotubes are used as building blocks for electronic devices. Recently, we have developed a novel floating-potential dielectrophoretic method for manipulating individual nanotubes [5]. This dielectrophoretic method developed not only aligns individual semiconducting and metallic SWCNTs between two electrical contacts, but it also filters and purifies nanotubes during the dielectrophoretic process. The basic mechanism is that the magnitude of electrical force applied onto nanotube suspensions is proportional to their volumes. When an electric field is applied to a series of patterned electrodes, bundles of nanotubes and impurities with large volume are first attracted to the region between the two control electrodes. Well-dispersed individual nanotu
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