2003/09/30 by Ali Javey, Jing Guo, Magnus Paulsson +5 · 601 citations
Engineering · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Ballistic conduction #Carbon Nanotubes in Composites #Carbon nanotube #Condensed matter physics #Electron #Graphene research and applications #Materials science #Mean free path #Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies #Nanotechnology #Nanotube #Ohmic contact #Optics #Phonon #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Scattering #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.92.106804
published in Physical Review Letters 92(10), 106804 (American Physical Society) · 4 figures. PRL, in press
arxiv created 2004/01/26 · openalex publication_date 2004/03/12 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Single walled carbon nanotubes with Pd Ohmic contacts and lengths ranging from several microns down to 10 nm are investigated by electron transport experiments and theory. The mean-free path (MFP) for acoustic phonon scattering is estimated to be l(ap) approximately 300 nm, and that for optical phonon scattering is l(op) approximately 15 nm. Transport through very short (approximately 10 nm) nanotubes is free of significant acoustic and optical phonon scattering and thus ballistic and quasiballistic at the low- and high-bias voltage limits, respectively. High currents of up to 70 microA can flow through a short nanotube. Possible mechanisms for the eventual electrical breakdown of short nanotubes at high fields are discussed. The results presented here have important implications to high performance nanotube transistors and interconnects.