Letter abstract
Nature Materials 4, 663 - 666 (2005)
doi:10.1038/nmat1450
Subject Categories: Nanoscale materials | Electronic materials
Novel electrical switching behaviour and logic in carbon nanotube Y-junctions
P. R. Bandaru1, C. Daraio1, S. Jin1 and A. M. Rao2
Carbon-nanotube-based electronics offers significant potential as a nanoscale alternative to silicon-based devices for molecular electronics technologies. Here, we show evidence for a dramatic electrical switching behaviour in a Y-junction carbon-nanotube1, 2, 3 morphology. We observe an abrupt modulation of the current from an on- to an off-state, presumably mediated by defects and the topology of the junction. The mutual interaction of the electron currents4 in the three branches of the Y-junction is shown to be the basis for a potentially new logic device. This is the first time that such switching and logic functionalities have been experimentally demonstrated in Y-junction nanotubes without the need for an external gate. A class of nanoelectronic architecture and functionality, which extends well beyond conventional field-effect transistor technologies5, 6, is now possible.
- Materials Science Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0411, USA
- Kinard Laboratory of Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0978, USA
Correspondence to: P. R. Bandaru1 e-mail: pbandaru@ucsd.edu
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Nanotubes The logical choice for electronics?Nature Materials News and Views (01 Sep 2005)
Molecular Nanostructures Carbon aheadNature Materials News and Views (01 May 2007)
See all 8 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
Size-selective growth of double-walled carbon nanotube forests from engineered iron catalystsNature Nanotechnology Article (01 Nov 2006)
Nanoelectronics Growing Y-junction carbon nanotubesNature Brief Communication (18 Nov 1999)
See all 35 matches for Research
