Ultrahigh density alignment of carbon nanotube arrays by dielectrophoresis.

We report ultrahigh density assembly of aligned single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) two-dimensional arrays via AC dielectrophoresis using high-quality surfactant-free and stable SWNT solutions. After optimization of frequency and trapping time, we can reproducibly control the linear density of the SWNT between prefabricated electrodes from 0.5 SWNT/μm to more than 30 SWNT/μm by tuning the concentration of the nanotubes in the solution. Our maximum density of 30 SWNT/μm is the highest for aligned arrays via any solution processing technique reported so far. Further increase of SWNT concentration results in a dense array with multiple layers. We discuss how the orientation and density of the nanotubes vary with concentrations and channel lengths. Electrical measurement data show that the densely packed aligned arrays have low sheet resistances. Selective removal of metallic SWNTs via controlled electrical breakdown produced field-effect transistors with high current on-off ratio. Ultrahigh density alignment reported here will have important implications in fabricating high-quality devices for digital and analog electronics.

[1]  J. Rogers,et al.  Ultrathin Films of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Electronics and Sensors: A Review of Fundamental and Applied Aspects , 2009 .

[2]  J. Rogers,et al.  Improved Density in Aligned Arrays of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Sequential Chemical Vapor Deposition on Quartz , 2010, Advanced materials.

[3]  Z. Bao,et al.  Nanotubes on display: how carbon nanotubes can be integrated into electronic displays. , 2010, ACS nano.

[4]  M. Lundstrom,et al.  Ballistic carbon nanotube field-effect transistors , 2003, Nature.

[5]  J. Rogers,et al.  High-performance electronics using dense, perfectly aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes. , 2007, Nature nanotechnology.

[6]  V. Derycke,et al.  New confinement method for the formation of highly aligned and densely packed single-walled carbon nanotube monolayers. , 2010, Small.

[7]  John A Rogers,et al.  High-frequency performance of submicrometer transistors that use aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes. , 2009, Nano letters.

[8]  M. Fuhrer,et al.  Extraordinary Mobility in Semiconducting Carbon Nanotubes , 2004 .

[9]  Local-gated single-walled carbon nanotube field effect transistors assembled by AC dielectrophoresis. , 2007, Nanotechnology.

[10]  C. Rutherglen,et al.  Wafer scale synthesis of dense aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes , 2008 .

[11]  Charles M Lieber,et al.  Large-area blown bubble films of aligned nanowires and carbon nanotubes. , 2007, Nature nanotechnology.

[12]  Michael Rapp,et al.  Thin Films of Metallic Carbon Nanotubes Prepared by Dielectrophoresis , 2006 .

[13]  John A Rogers,et al.  Radio frequency analog electronics based on carbon nanotube transistors , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[15]  J. Rogers,et al.  Guided growth of large-scale, horizontally aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes and their use in thin-film transistors. , 2005, Small.

[16]  R. Osiander,et al.  Wafer-level assembly of carbon nanotube networks using dielectrophoresis , 2008, Nanotechnology.

[17]  Horst Hahn,et al.  Ultra-large-scale directed assembly of single-walled carbon nanotube devices. , 2007, Nano letters.

[18]  Henri Happy,et al.  80 GHz field-effect transistors produced using high purity semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes , 2009 .

[19]  S. Khondaker.  Fabrication of nanoscale device using individual colloidal gold nanoparticles , 2004 .

[20]  Li Zhang,et al.  Langmuir-blodgett assembly of densely aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes from bulk materials. , 2007, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[21]  Po-Chiang Chen,et al.  Transparent electronics based on transfer printed aligned carbon nanotubes on rigid and flexible substrates. , 2009, ACS nano.

[22]  S. Khondaker,et al.  High quality solution processed carbon nanotube transistors assembled by dielectrophoresis , 2010 .

[23]  Subhasish Mitra,et al.  CMOS-analogous wafer-scale nanotube-on-insulator approach for submicrometer devices and integrated circuits using aligned nanotubes. , 2009, Nano letters.

[24]  P. Bøggild,et al.  Dielectrophoresis of carbon nanotubes using microelectrodes: a numerical study , 2004 .

[25]  S. Khondaker,et al.  Evaluating defects in solution-processed carbon nanotube devices via low-temperature transport spectroscopy. , 2010, ACS nano.

[26]  John A Rogers,et al.  Printed multilayer superstructures of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes for electronic applications. , 2007, Nano letters.

[27]  Huaping Liu,et al.  Transfer and alignment of random single-walled carbon nanotube films by contact printing. , 2010, ACS nano.

[28]  Chen Feng,et al.  Flexible, Stretchable, Transparent Conducting Films Made from Superaligned Carbon Nanotubes , 2010 .

[29]  C. Rutherglen,et al.  rf resistance and inductance of massively parallel single walled carbon nanotubes: Direct, broadband measurements and near perfect 50Ω impedance matching , 2008 .

[30]  Chongwu Zhou,et al.  Wafer-scale fabrication of separated carbon nanotube thin-film transistors for display applications. , 2009, Nano letters.

[31]  Lei Ding,et al.  Density enhancement of aligned single-walled carbon nanotube thin films on quartz substrates by sulfur-assisted synthesis. , 2009, Nano letters.

[32]  James F. Rusling,et al.  Carbon Nanotubes for Electronic and Electrochemical Detection of Biomolecules , 2007, Advanced materials.

[33]  Yi Xuan,et al.  Fully Transparent Thin‐Film Transistors Based on Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays and Indium Tin Oxide Electrodes , 2009, Advanced materials.

[34]  S. Barman,et al.  Self-Sorted, Aligned Nanotube Networks for Thin-Film Transistors , 2008, Science.

[35]  S. Khondaker,et al.  High yield fabrication of chemically reduced graphene oxide field effect transistors by dielectrophoresis , 2010, Nanotechnology.

[36]  M. Dresselhaus,et al.  Physical properties of carbon nanotubes , 1998 .

[37]  C. Rutherglen,et al.  Nanotube electronics for radiofrequency applications. , 2009, Nature nanotechnology.

[38]  Phaedon Avouris,et al.  Thin film nanotube transistors based on self-assembled, aligned, semiconducting carbon nanotube arrays. , 2008, ACS nano.

[39]  P. Avouris,et al.  Carbon-based electronics. , 2007, Nature nanotechnology.

[40]  S. Khondaker,et al.  Solution processed large area field effect transistors from dielectrophoreticly aligned arrays of carbon nanotubes , 2008, 0812.4828.