Dielectrophoretic assembly of carbon nanotubes and stability analysis

Abstract

Nanoscale dimensions and remarkable properties of carbon nanotubes make them promising building blocks for nanoelectronics. One requirement is the need to manipulate single or multiple carbon nanotubes to bridge electronic conductors. In this paper, multi-walled carbon nanotubes with a variety of sizes are assembled onto electrodes using alternative current electric fields by dielectrophoresis. The effect of the dielectrophoretic parameters and the nanotube size as well as the length uniformity on the assembly is experimentally investigated. Current–voltage characteristics of assembled carbon nanotubes are measured. The experimental results showed that both the dielectrophoretic parameters and length uniformity of carbon nanotubes have an influence on the stability of assembly results. Choosing uniform carbon nanotubes with an appropriate length and sufficient stiffness, which are more controllable by dielectrophoresis, is necessary for an assembly of a small number of carbon nanotubes.