Measurements of the Conductivity of Individual 10 Nm Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

ABSTRACTCatalytically grown carbon fibers approximately 10 nm in diameter and several microns long were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and determined to be multiple-walled nanotubes, and a technique was developed to measure the conductivity of an individual nanotube. Nanotubes were dispersed in solvents and precipitated onto lithographically defined gold contacts to make a ‘nano-wire’ circuit. Non-contact AFM was used to image the nano-wires, and a resistance of 11.4 (± 1.0) MΩ was measured through a single nanotube at 23°C. A resistivity of 9.5×10−5 Ω m was estimated for carbon conducting along the axis of a fiber. Local heating of nanotubes appeared to occur at high current densities. The nanotubes could sustain currents on the order of 10 μA per fiber, but application of currents on the order of 100 μA per fiber resulted in rapid decomposition in air and breaking of the circuit.