Thermal conversion of electronic and electrical properties of AuCl3-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes.

By using carbon-free inorganic atomic layer involving heat treatment from 150 to 300 °C, environmentally stable and permanent modulation of the electronic and electrical properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from p-type to ambi-polar and possibly to n-type has been demonstrated. At low heat treatment temperature, a strong p-doping effect from Au(3+) ions to CNTs due to a large difference in reduction potential between them is dominant. However at higher temperature, the gold species are thermally reduced, and thermally induced CNT-Cl finally occurs by the decomposition reaction of AuCl(3). Thus, in the AuCl(3)-doped SWCNTs treated at higher temperature, the p-type doping effect is suppressed and an n-type property from CNT-Cl is thermally induced. Thermal conversion of the majority carrier type of AuCl(3)-doped SWNTs is systematically investigated by combining various optical and electrical tools.

Thin film transistors using preferentially grown semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube networks by water-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.

Nearly perfect semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube random network thin film transistors were fabricated and their reproducible transport properties were investigated. The networked single-walled carbon nanotubes were directly grown by water-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Optical analysis confirmed that the nanotubes were mostly semiconductors without clear metallic resonances in both the Raman and the UV-vis-IR spectroscopy. The transistors made by the nanotube networks whose density was much larger than the percolation threshold also showed no metallic paths. Estimation based on the conductance change of semiconducting nanotubes in the SWNT network due to applied gate voltage difference (conductance difference for on and off state) indicated a preferential growth of semiconducting nanotubes with an advantage of water-assisted PECVD. The nanotube transistors showed 10(-5) of on/off ratio and approximately 8 cm2 V(-1) s(-1) of field effect mobility.

Adaptive logic circuits with doping-free ambipolar carbon nanotube transistors.

A CMOS-like inverter was integrated by using ambipolar carbon nanotube (CNT) transistors without doping. The ambipolar CNT transistors automatically configure themselves to play a role as an n-type or p-type transistor in a logic circuit depending on the supply voltage (V(DD)) and ground. A NOR (NAND) gate is adaptively converted to a NAND (NOR) gate. This adaptiveness of logic gates exhibiting two logic gate functions in a single logic circuit offers a new opportunity for designing logic circuits with high integration density for next generation applications.

Reduction-controlled viologen in bisolvent as an environmentally stable n-type dopant for carbon nanotubes.

Various viologens have been used to control the doping of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) via direct redox reactions. A new method of extracting neutral viologen (V(0)) was introduced using a biphase of toluene and viologen-dissolved water. A reductant of sodium borohydride transferred positively charged viologen (V(2+)) into V(0), where the reduced V(0) was separated into toluene with high separation yield. This separated V(0) solution was dropped on carbon nanotube transistors to investigate the doping effect of CNTs. With a viologen concentration of 3 mM, all the p-type CNT transistors were converted to n-type with improved on/off ratios. This was achieved by donating electrons spontaneously to CNTs from neutral V(0), leaving energetically stable V(2+) on the nanotube surface again. The doped CNTs were stable in water due to the presence of hydrophobic V(0) at the outermost CNT transistors, which may act as a protecting layer to prevent further oxidation from water.