Cover Picture: Fabrication and Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotube Interconnections (Adv. Funct. Mater. 11/2005)

Abstract

AbstractThe fabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT) structures, including simple tube–tube connections, crossed junctions, T‐junctions, zigzag structures, and even nanotube networks, has been achieved by cutting and soldering CNTs using electron‐beam‐induced deposition of amorphous carbon (a‐C), as detailed in the work of Peng and co‐workers on p. 1825. These CNT structures have been constructed with a high degree of control, and it is found that the electric conductance and mechanical strength of the junctions can be improved by the deposition of a‐C and by increasing the contact area of the junctions.Individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been cut, manipulated, and soldered via electron‐beam‐induced deposition of amorphous carbon (a‐C) and using a scanning tunneling microscope inside a transmission electron microscope. All CNT structures, including simple tube–tube connections, crossed junctions, T‐junctions, zigzag structures, and even nanotube networks, have been successfully constructed with a high degree of control, and their electrical and mechanical properties have been measured in situ inside the transmission electron microscope. It is found that multiple CNTs may be readily soldered together with moderate junction resistance and excellent mechanical resilience and strength, and the junction resistance may be further reduced by current‐induced graphitization of the deposited a‐C on the junction.