Abstract
Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy have been used to characterize the atomic structure and tunneling density of states of individual single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT's) and ropes containing many SWNT's. Analysis of atomically resolved SWNT images shows that the nanotubes consist of a wide range of diameters and helicities with no one structure clearly dominant. Tunneling spectroscopy measurements made simultaneously on atomically resolved SWNT's exhibit semiconducting and metallic behavior that depend predictably on helicity and diameter. In addition the band gaps of the semiconducting tubes were also found to depend inversely on diameter. These results are compared to theoretical predictions, and the implications of these studies as well as important future directions are discussed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2380-2388 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Materials Research |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1998 |
Funding
We thank J. Liu and R. E. Smalley for helpful discussions and samples, and D. Vezenov for help with the Au deposition. T. W. O. acknowledges fellowship support from the NSF. This work was supported by the NSF Division of Materials Research.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering