Electrostatic Force Microscopy and Kelvin Force Microscopy as a Probe of the Electrostatic and Electronic Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

This chapter addresses recent experimental studies on carbon nanotubes and nanotube devices using electrical techniques derived from atomic force microscopy. Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), Kelvin force microscope (KFM), and their variants are introduced. We show how EFM-related techniques are used to image the electrostatic and electronic properties of individual carbon nanotubes on insulators, to manipulate their charge state, and to measure field-emission and band-structure properties of individual nanotubes. We then describe how KFM-related techniques can bring insight into the operation of electronic devices based on carbon nanotubes. We focus here on the case of field effect transistors, and describe how KFM techniques can be used to study charge transfers at the nanotube–contact interfaces, to assess the transport properties in carbon nanotubes, and, finally, to characterize carbon nanotube devices under operation.