Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Release of Stuck Carbon Nanotube Cantilever Beam toward Nanorelay Application

Abstract

We have investigated the release of a stuck carbon nanotube cantilever beam by molecular dynamics simulation toward nanorelay applications. We have demonstrated that the successful release of a nanotube arm from the stuck state at room temperature can be realized by the application of a resonant external vibration to the nanotube cantilever beam. The release of the stuck nanotube cantilever beam was well explained by the thermal activation model with a barrier height of the van der Waals interaction between the nanotube arm and the counter electrode.