Telescoping self-aligned metal-catalyzed carbon nanotube piezoresistors as strain gauges

Abstract

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) bridges, grown using low-pressure, metal-catalyzed, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique between silicon posts, were used as tiny piezoresistors to monitor vibration and bending/deformation of silicon cantilever beams. The weld strength of the CNTs, measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM), was larger than 100 nN/CNT and their full-scale resistance change was larger than 105 ω. The effective longitudinal piezoresistivity of these CNTs was larger than 4×10−8 Pa−1, which is larger than that of π44 in silicon.