Letter abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 201 - 205 (2008)
Published online: 23 March 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.60
Subject Category: Electronic properties and devices
Terahertz time-domain measurement of ballistic electron resonance in a single-walled carbon nanotube
Zhaohui Zhong1, Nathaniel M. Gabor1,2, Jay E. Sharping3, Alexander L. Gaeta1,3 & Paul L. McEuen1,2
Abstract
Understanding the physics of low-dimensional systems and the operation of next-generation electronics will depend on our ability to measure the electrical properties of nanomaterials at terahertz frequencies (
100 GHz to 10 THz). Single-walled carbon nanotubes are prototypical one-dimensional nanomaterials because of their unique band structure1, 2 and long carrier mean free path3, 4, 5. Although nanotube transistors have been studied at microwave frequencies (100 MHz to 50 GHz)6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, no techniques currently exist to probe their terahertz response12. Here, we describe the first terahertz electrical measurements of single-walled carbon nanotube transistors performed in the time domain. We observe a ballistic electron resonance that corresponds to the round-trip transit of an electron along the nanotube with a picosecond-scale period. The electron velocity is found to be constant and equal to the Fermi velocity, showing that the high-frequency electron response is dominated by single-particle excitations rather than collective plasmon modes. These results demonstrate a powerful new tool for directly probing picosecond electron motion in nanostructures.
- Center for Nanoscale Systems, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
- Laboratory of Atomic and Solid-State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
- School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Correspondence to: Jay E. Sharping3 Present address: School of Natural Sciences, University of California at Merced, Merced, California 95344, USA
Correspondence to: Paul L. McEuen1,2 e-mail: mceuen@ccmr.cornell.edu
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