Effect of Plasma Ignition on the Growth Temperature Decrease of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in a Plasma-Coupled Hybrid Chemical-Vapor-Deposition System

Abstract

We demonstrate the effect of plasma ignition on the growth temperature decrease of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by using a plasma-coupled hybrid chemical-vapor-deposition system. The horizontal reactor is divided into the plasma ignition region and the SWNT synthesis region. The plasma was generated by using an inductively-coupled system and contributed to efficient decomposition of the feedstock gas. The growth temperature for the SWNTs was suppressed to 500 ◦ C at a plasma power of 400 W with a mixture of C2H4 and H2 gases. The result of optical emission spectroscopy showed H2, Hβ, and CH lines with relatively weak intensities favorable for low-temperature growth of SWNTs.