Physics of Carbon Nanotube Devices

Preface

Due to their low dimensionality, nanostructures such as quantum dots, nanowires and carbon nanotubes possess unique properties that make them promising candidates for future technology applications. However, to truly harness the potential of nanostructures, it is essential to develop a fundamental understanding of the basic physics that governs their behavior in devices. This is especially true for carbon nanotubes, where, as will be discussed in this book, research has shown that the concepts learned from bulk device physics do not simply carry over to nanotube devices, leading to unusual device operation. For example, the properties of bulk metal/semiconductor contacts are usually dominated by Fermi level pinning; in contrast, the quasi-onedimensional ...