University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Nanosoldering Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Using Hafnium Diboride

Zhou, Tianzi

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Description

Title
Nanosoldering Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Using Hafnium Diboride
Author(s)
Zhou, Tianzi
Contributor(s)
Lyding, Joseph W.
Issue Date
2010-05
Keyword(s)
  • carbon nanotubes
  • single-walled carbon nanotubes
  • thin-film transistors
  • hafnium diboride
  • nanosoldering
Abstract
Because of their extraordinary electrical and mechanical properties, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been considered not only as replacements for current silicon-based microelectronics, but as building blocks for a variety of electrical devices. Indeed, most major universities and industrial laboratories, such as IBM, now have at least one group studying these materials for a variety of electronic applications. While for the individual semiconducting tube, the resistance of the off state can be more than a million times greater than that of the on state, the on-off ratio of a real-world SWNT thin film transistor (TFT) is only hundreds to several thousands depending on the device, and its mobility is much lower than expected. The core of a CNT-TFT is the thin SWNT network film, which is flexible and transparent. One reason for SWNT TFTs' low on-off ratio and mobility is the high resistance of crossed nanotube junctions in the SWNT network films. To increase the conductivity of the SWNT networks without losing optical transparency, we deposit HfB2, an electrically conductive and ultra-hard metallic ceramic compatible with carbon nanotubes. In this work, we attempt to deposit HfB2 selectively to the tube junctions. This process enhances the electrical conductivity and is expected to enhance on-off ratio and mobility when applied to CNT-TFTs.
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/47013

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