Physics of Carbon Nanotube Devices

Chapter 2. Metallic Carbon Nanotubes for Current Transport

2.1. Introduction

Metallic carbon nanotubes have attracted significant attention because their ability to carry high current densities is unparalleled in the family of emerging nanowires. Ballistic transport has been observed, and values for the conductance that approach the theoretical limit have been measured at small biases. They hold promise as interconnects in both nanoelectronics and molecular electronics because of their low resistance and outstanding mechanical properties (Fig. 2.1). A problem with interconnects in the semiconductor industry is breakdown of copper wires due to electromigration when current densities exceed 10⁶A/cm². Preliminary work has shown that arrays of ...