Generation of direct current in zigzag carbon nanotubes due to harmonic mixing of two coherent electromagnetic waves is being considered. The electromagnetic waves have commensurate frequencies of omega and two omega. The rectification of the waves at high frequencies is quite smooth whiles at low frequencies there are some fluctuations. The nonohmicity observed in the I-Vcharacteristics is attributed to the nonparabolicity of the electron energy band which is very strong in carbon nanotubes because of high stark component. It is observed that the current falls off faster at lower electric field than the case in superlattice. For omega tau equal to two? the external electric field strength Emax for the observation of negative differential conductivity occurs around 1.03x10e6 V/m which is quite weak. It is interesting to note that the peak of the curve shifts to the left with increasing value of omega tau?
Magnetic response of interacting electrons in a zigzag carbon nanotube threaded by a magnetic flux is investigated within a Hartree-Fock mean field approach. Following the description of energy spectra for both non-interacting and interacting cases we analyze the behavior of persistent current in individual branches of a nanotube. Our present investigation leads to a possibility of getting a filling-dependent metal-insulator transition in a zigzag carbon nanotube.
We report the one-electron spectrum and eigenstates of infinite achiral and chiral $(2m,m)$ carbon nanotubes found by using the analytic solution to the Schrödinger equation for the tight-binding Hückel-type Hamiltonian. With the help of matching the wave functions on the interfaces between the regions, where electrons have different site energies, we find and compare the transmission coefficients for zigzag, armchair and chiral nanotubes subjected to the action of an applied step-like potential. The correspondence between the nanotube band structure and the energy dependence of the transmissi…
We investigate transport through a single impurity in metallic zigzag carbon nanotube and find the conductance sensitively depends on the impurity strength and the bias voltage. It is rather interesting that interplay between the current-carrying scattering state and evanescent modes leads to rich phenomena including resonant backward scattering, perfect tunneling and charge accumulations. In addition, we also find a dual relation between the backscattered conductance and the charge accumulation. At the end, relevance to the experiments is discussed.
With the use of the semiclassical Boltzmann equation we have calculated a direct current (d.c) in undoped zigzag carbon nanotube (CN) by mixing two coherent electromagnetic waves with commensurate frequencies i.e and . This effect is attributed to the nonparabolicity of the electron energy band which is very strong in carbon nanotubes. We observed that the current is negative similar to that observed in superlattice. However if the phase shift lies between and there is an inversion and the current becomes positive. It is interesting to note that exhibit negative differential conductivity as ex…
We investigated spin-resolved electronic transport through a junction composed of a nonmagnetic metal electrode and a zigzag carbon nanotube by means of self-consistent Green's function method in the tight binding approximation and the unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation. Our results show that the electric current can be spin-polarized if the coupling of the junction is weak. Further calculations on spin-spin correlation and local density of states reveal the existence of magnetic edge states in zigzag carbon nanotubes, which is responsible for the observed spin-polarized current and can b…
Interlayer Conductance in the Armchair Nanotube -- Zigzag Graphene Ribbon Parallel Contact: Theoretical Proposal of Detection of Wavefunction Growing from the Edge to the Center in the Graphene Ribbon
Properties of bulk and boundaries of materials can, in general, be quite different, both for topological and non-topological reasons. One of the simplest boundary problems to pose is the tight-binding problem of noninteracting electrons on a finite honeycomb lattice. Despite its simplicity, the problem is quite rich and directly related to the physics of graphene. We revisit this long-studied problem and present an analytical derivation of the electron spectrum and wave functions for graphene rectangular derivatives. We provide an exact analytical description of extended and localized states, …
We study one dimensional (1D) carbon ribbons with the armchair edges and the zigzag carbon nanotubes and their counterparts with finite length (0D) in the framework of the Hückel model. We prove that a 1D carbon ribbon is metallic if its width (the number of carbon rings) is equal to $2+3n$. We show that the dispersion law (electron band energy) of a 1D metallic ribbon or a 1D metallic carbon nanotube has a universal {\it sin-}like dependence at the Fermi energy which is independent of its width. We find that in case of metallic graphene ribbons of finite length (rectangular graphene macromole…
In this work we investigated the encapsulation of C$_20$ and C$_30$ fullerenes into semiconducting carbon nanotubes to study the possibility of bandgap engineering in such systems. Classical molecular dynamics simulations coupled to tight-binding calculations were used to determine the conformational and electronic properties of carbon nanotube supercells containing up to 12 fullerenes. We have observed that C$_20$ fullerenes behave similarly to a p-type dopant while C$_30$ ones work as n-type ones. For larger diameter nanotubes, where fullerene patterns start to differ from the linear arrange…
In this work, Dirac fermions have been obtained and engineered in one-dimensional (1D) zigzag phosphorus nanotubes (ZPNTs). We have performed a comprehensive first-principle computational study of the electronic properties of ZPNTs with various diameters. The results indicate that as the lattice parameter (Lc) along axial direction increases, ZPNTs undergo transitions from metal to semimetal and semimetal to semiconductor, whereas Dirac fermions appear at Lc ranging from 3.90Å to 4.10Å. In particular, a field effect transistor (FET) based on a 12-ZPNT (with 12 unit cells in transverse directio…
The fundamental question of how chirality affects the electronic coupling of a nanotube to metal contacts is important for the application of nanotubes as nanowires. We show that metallic-zigzag nanotubes are superior to armchair nanotubes as nanowires, by modeling the metal-nanotube interface. More specifically, we show that as a function of coupling strength, the total electron transmission of armchair nanotubes increases and tends to be pinned close to unity for a metal with Fermi wave vector close to that of gold. In contrast, the total transmission of zigzag nanotubes increases to the max…
Using first-principles calculations, we study the work function of single wall silicon carbide nanotube (SiCNT). The work function is found to be highly dependent on the tube chirality and diameter. It increases with decreasing the tube diameter. The work function of zigzag SiCNT is always larger than that of armchair SiCNT. We reveal that the difference between the work function of zigzag and armchair SiCNT comes from their different intrinsic electronic structures, for which the singly degenerate energy band above the Fermi level of zigzag SiCNT is specifically responsible. Our finding offer…
It has been known theoretically that localized states exist around zigzag edges of a graphite ribbon and of a carbon nanotube, whose energy eigenvalues are located between conduction and valence bands. We found that in metallic single-walled zigzag carbon nanotubes two of the localized states become critical, and that their localization length is sensitive to the mean curvature of a tube and can be controlled by the Aharonov-Bohm flux. The curvature induced mini-gap closes by the relatively weak magnetic field. Conductance measurement in the presence of the Aharonov-Bohm flux can give informat…
Using a tight-binding model and some well-known approaches and methods based on Green's function theory and Landauer formalism, we numerically investigate the conductance properties and I-V characteristics of zigzag single-walled BCN alloy nanotube in the CNT/BCN/CNT structure, where nanocontacts are considered as zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes. Our calculations show that any increasing in considerably give rise to the enhancing of the conductance of the system. With our system characteristics, this system can be a possible candidate for a nanoelectronic switching device.
The phonon dispersion of chiral single wall carbon nanotubes has been obtained from $6\times 6$ dyanimic matrix. The present manuscript is the extension of G. D. Mahan and Gun Sang Jeon's work on armchair and zigzag nanotubes. [see P. R. B., {\bf 70}, 075405 (2004)]. We use spring and mass model with the proper phonon potential suggested by \cite{M2}. We can calculate the dispersion of single wall carbon nanotubes near $Γ$ point with arbitrary chirality. The results are compatible with Mahan et. al's results for armchair and zigzag SWNTs.
Two delocalized states of metallic zigzag carbon nanotubes near the Dirac point can be localized by the Aharanov-Bohm magnetic field around 20 Tesla. The dependence of the localization on the length and diameter of the nanotubes shows that the localization-delocalization transition can be observed for 2 nm diameter tube. The mechanism of the localization is explained in terms of the deformation-induced gauge field, which shows a topological nature of the localization. The transition from the delocalized states to the localized states can be observed by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectro…
The stability of trionic excitations in zigzag carbon nanotubes has been estimated. A trion is shown to be unstable with respect to the ground excitonic state and stable with respect to the excited one. So, trions in nanotubes of this type can be formed by capturing an electron or a hole by an excited exciton. In other words, the trion in a nanotube is an excimer complex, which results in the formation of a system with three energy levels (unexcited exciton--trion--excited exciton).
Using semiclassical Boltzmann equation we have studied theoretically an effect of a direct current (DC) generation in undoped armchair carbon nanotube (CN) by mixing two coherent electromagnetic waves with commensurate frequencies i.e omega and 2 omega . We compared the results of the armchair with that of the zigzag carbon nanotubes for the same conditions (i.e. when the normalized current is plotted against the amplitude). Quantitatively they agree with each other except that the absolute value of the peaks of the current for zigzag is about 1.1 times that of the armchair. We noticed that th…
In this work, we have examined how the multi-vacancy defects induced in the horizontal direction change the energetics and the electronic structure of semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs). The electronic structure of SWCNTs is computed for each deformed configuration by means of real space, Order(N) Tight Binding Molecular Dynamic (O(N) TBMD) simulations. Energy band gap is obtained in real space through the behavior of electronic density of states (eDOS) near the Fermi level. Vacancies can effectively change the energetics and hence the electronic structure of SWCNTs. In thi…
Band structure is theoretically studied in partially flattened carbon nanotubes within an effective-mass scheme. Effects of inter-wall interactions are shown to be important in non-chiral nanotubes such as zigzag and armchair and can essentially be neglected in chiral nanotubes except in the close vicinity of non-chiral tubes. In fact, inter-wall interactions significantly modify states depending on relative displacement in the flattened region in non-chiral tubes and can convert semiconducting tubes into metallic and vice versa. They diminish rapidly when the chiral angle deviates from that o…
Long linear carbon chains encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes are a very close realization of carbyne, the truly one-dimensional allotrope of carbon. Here we study individual pairs of double-walled carbon nanotubes and encapsulated linear carbon chains by tip-enhanced Raman scattering. We observe that the radial breathing mode of the inner nanotube correlates with the frequency of the carbon chain's Raman mode, revealing that the nanotube chirality determines the vibronic and electronic properties of the encapsulated carbon chain. We provide the missing link that connects the properties of th…
We consider the excitation of electrons in semiconducting carbon nanotubes by photons from the evanescent field created by a subwavelength-diameter optical fiber. The strongly changing evanescent field of such nanofibers requires dropping the dipole approximation. We show that this leads to novel effects, especially a high dependence of the photon absorption on the relative orientation and geometry of the nanotube-nanofiber setup in the optical and near infrared domain. In particular, we calculate photon absorption probabilities for a straight nanotube and nanofiber depending on their relative…
We present ab initio calculations on the band structure and density of states of single wall semiconducting carbon nanotubes with high degrees (up to 25%) of B, Si and N substitution. The doping process consists of two phases: different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for a constant doping rate and different doping rates for the zigzag (8, 0) carbon nanotube. We analyze the doping dependence of nanotubes on the doping rate and the nanotube type. Using these results, we select the zigzag (8, 0) carbon nanotube for toxic gas sensor calculation and obtain the total and partial densities of states for CNT…
In carbon nanotubes, the most abundant defects, caused for example by irradiation or chemisorption treatments, are small perturbing clusters, i.e. bi-site defects, extending over both A and B sites. The relative positions of these perturbing clusters play a crucial role in determining the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes. Using bandstructure and electronic transport calculations, we find out that in the case of armchair metallic nanotubes a band gap opens up when the clusters fulfill a certain periodicity condition. This phenomenon might be used in future nanoelectronic devices in whi…
We investigate the thermal conductivity of four types of deformed carbon nanotubes by using the nonequilibrium molecular dynamics method. It is reported that various deformations have different influence on the thermal properties of carbon nanotubes. For the bending carbon nanotubes, the thermal conductivity is independent on the bending angle. However, the thermal conductivity increases lightly with XY-distortion and decreases rapidly with Z-distortion. The thermal conductivity does not change with the screw ratio before the breaking of carbon nanotubes but decreases sharply after the critica…
The entanglement of two atoms (ions) doped into a carbon nanotube has been investigated theoretically. Based on the photon Green function formalism for quantizing electromagnetic field in the presence of carbon nanotubes, small-diameter metallic nanotubes are shown to result in a high degree of the two-qubit atomic entanglement for long times due to the strong atom-field coupling.
We use numerical simulations to analyze recent experimental measurements of short-channel carbon nanotube field-effect transistors with palladium contacts. We show that the gate strongly modulates the contact properties, an effect that is distinct from that observed in Schottky barrier carbon nanotube transistors. This modulation of the contacts by the gate allows for the realization of superior subthreshold swings for short channels, and improved scaling behavior. These results further elucidate the behavior of carbon nanotube-metal contacts, and should be useful in the optimization of high-p…
The objective of the present paper is to investigate the mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes. We use classical molecular dynamics simulation in order to study the effect of external compression, bending and torsion to nanotubes. We find that in the low temperature limit, the nanotubes are resilient, sustaining extreme strain without signs of brittleness or plasticity. For high temperatures and under tension the nanotubes show brittle or plastic behavior.
We develop the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) formalism for the superconductivity of carbon nanotubes. It is found that the superconducting transition temperature Tc of single-wall carbon nanotubes decreases exponentially with the increase of the tube diameter because the density of states near the Fermi energy is inversely proportional to the tube diameter. For the multi-wall carbon nanotubes, the Cooper paring hopping between layers enhances the superconducting correlation and increases the superconducting transition temperature, which is consistent with the experimental observation.
We propose a nonequilibrium Green's function approach to calculate the ac conductance of various finite-length carbon nanotubes. The simulated ac conductance differs significantly from that of the infinite-length ones. At the low-frequency limit, the profiles of the quantized conductance are still observable in the finite-length carbon nanotubes, but many more peaks appear on the conductance curves. We also show that the conductance of finite-length carbon nanotubes will oscillate as a function of the ac frequency. The dependence of the oscillation on the lengths, helicities and defects of the…
Using first-principles calculations, we examine the electronic and magnetic properties of partially open zigzag carbon nanotube (CNT) superlattices. It is found that depending on their opening degree, these superlattices can exhibit multiple localized states around the Fermi energy. More importantly, some electronic states confined in some parts of the structure even have special magnetic orderings. We demonstrate that, as a proof of principle, some partially open zigzag CNT superlattices are by themselves giant (100%) magnetoresistive devices. Furthermore, the localized(and spin-polarized) st…
Extensive molecular dynamics simulations of water permeation and ion selectivity of the single-walled carbon nanotubes with the radial deformation are presented . The simulated results indicate that there is a close relationship between the minor axis of deformed carbon nanotubes and the variety, density as well as the position of functional groups. The critical minor axis of different diameter carbon nanotubes exists, and the carbon nanotube whose minor axis is less than the critical minor axis owns the selectivity of chlorine and sodium ions. Meanwhile, compared with intrinsic carbon nanotub…
Towards a novel magnetoresistance (MR) device with a carbon nanotube, we propose ``nonmagnetic metal/zigzag nanotube encapsulating magnetic atoms/nonmagnetic metal'' junctions. We theoretically investigate how spin-polarized edges of the nanotube and the encapsulated magnetic atoms influence on transport. When the on-site Coulomb energy divided by the magnitude of transfer integral, $U/|t|$, is larger than 0.8, large MR effect due to the direction of spins of magnetic atoms, which has the magnitude of the MR ratio of about 100%, appears reflecting such spin-polarized edges.
Photonic crystal nanocavities are used to enhance photoluminescence from single-walled carbon nanotubes. Micelle-encapsulated nanotubes are deposited on nanocavities within Si photonic crystal slabs and confocal microscopy is used to characterize the devices. Photoluminescence spectra and images reveal nanotube emission coupled to nanocavity modes. The cavity modes can be tuned throughout the emission wavelengths of carbon nanotubes, demonstrating the ability to enhance photoluminescence from a variety of chiralities.
Two paramount challenges in carbon nanotube research are achieving chirality-controlled synthesis and understanding chirality-dependent device physics. High-throughput and in-situ chirality and electronic structural characterization of individual carbon nanotubes is crucial for addressing these challenges. Optical imaging and spectroscopy has unparalleled throughput and specificity, but its realization for single nanotubes on substrates or in devices has long been an outstanding challenge. Here we demonstrate video-rate imaging and in-situ spectroscopy of individual carbon nanotubes on various…
We analyze optical absorption by atomically doped carbon nanotubes with a special focus on the frequency range close to the atomic transition frequency. We derive the optical absorbtion line-shape function and, having analyzed particular achiral nanotubes of different diameters, predict the effect of absorbtion line splitting due to strong atom-vacuum-field coupling in small-diameter nanotubes. We expect this effect to stimulate relevant experimental efforts and thus to open a path to new device applications of atomically doped carbon nanotubes in modern nanotechnologies.
We have theoretically investigated electromechanical properties of freely suspended carbon nanotubes when a current is injected into the tubes using a scanning tunneling microscope. We show that a shuttle-like electromechanical instability can occur if the bias voltage exceeds a dissipation-dependent threshold value. An instability results in large amplitude vibrations of the carbon nanotube bending mode, which modify the current-voltage characteristics of the system.
We report the first observation of trions (charged excitons), three-particle bound states consisting of one electron and two holes, in hole-doped carbon nanotubes at room temperature. When p-type dopants are added to carbon nanotube solutions, the photoluminescence and absorption peaks of the trions appear far below the E11 bright exciton peak, regardless of the dopant species. The unexpectedly large energy separation between the bright excitons and the trions is attributed to the strong electron-hole exchange interaction in carbon nanotubes.
We present a two-step procedure to probe hotspots of plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering with carbon nanotubes. Dielectrophoretic deposition places a small carbon nanotube bundle on top of plasmonic Au nanodimer. After 'pre-characterising' both the nanotubes and dimer structure, we subsequently use the tip of an AFM to push the bundle into the plasmonic hotspot located in the 25nm wide dimer gap, characterize its location inside the gap, and observe the onset of plasmon-enhanced Raman scattering. Evidence for the activation of the carbon nanotube's double-resonant D-mode by the near-field of the…
Deformations of single-wall carbon nanotubes are investigated within the tight-binding model with deformation-dependent hopping energies. We show that the nanotubes tend to twist and shrink spontaneously at zero temperature. The explicit values of the deformation parameters are computed for a wide range of nanotubes with varying diameter and chirality. The changes of the spectral gap associated with the spontaneous deformation are shown to depend on the chirality of the nanotubes.
A mechanism of stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation by an electron beam in carbon nanotubes is theoretically considered. Three basic properties of carbon nanotubes, a strong slowing down of surface electromagnetic waves, ballisticity of the electron motion over typical nanotube length, and extremely high electron current density reachable in nanotubes, allow proposing them as candidates for the development of nano-scale Chernekov-type emitters, analogous to traveling wave tube and free electron laser. Dispersion equations of the electron beam instability and the threshold condition…
We present a comprehensive characterization of an individual multiwalled carbon nanotube transport device combining electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy with electrical measurements. Each method gives complementary information that mutually help to interpret each other. A sample design that allows for combining these investigation methods on individual carbon nanotube devices is introduced. This offers a direct correlation of transport features and shifts of Raman modes with structural properties as e.g. the contact interface and the morphology of the nanotube.
The Rashba spin-orbit coupling in carbon nanotubes and its effect on spin-dependent transport properties are analyzed theoretically. We focus on clean non-interacting nanotubes with tunable number of subbands $N$. The peculiar band structure is shown to allow in principle for Datta-Das oscillatory behavior in the tunneling magnetoresistance as a function of gate voltage, despite the presence of multiple bands. We discuss the conditions for observing Datta-Das oscillations in carbon nanotubes.
The ability to tune the thermal resistance of carbon nanotube mechanical supports from insulating to conducting could permit the next generation of thermal management devices. Here, we demonstrate fabrication techniques for carbon nanotube supports that realize either weak or strong thermal coupling, selectively. Direct imaging by in-situ electron thermal microscopy shows that the thermal contact resistance of a nanotube weakly-coupled to its support is greater than 250 K*m/W and that this value can be reduced to 4.2(+5.6/-2.1) K*m/W by imbedding the nanotube in metal contacts.
We present an investigation of different thin-film evaporated ferromagnetic materials for their suitability as electrodes in individual single-wall and multi-wall carbon nanotube-based spin devices. Various electrode shapes made from permalloy (Ni_{81}Fe_{19}), the diluted ferromagnet PdFe, and PdFe/Fe bilayers are studied for both their micromagnetic properties and their contact formation to carbon nanotubes. Suitable devices are tested in low-temperature electron transport measurements, displaying the typical tunneling magnetoresistance of carbon nanotube pseudo spin valves.
Hysteretic switching in the magnetoresistance of short-channel, ferromagnetically contacted individual single wall carbon nanotubes is observed, providing strong evidence for nanotube spin transport. By varying the voltage on a capacitively coupled gate, the magnetoresistance can be reproducibly modified between +10% and -15%. The results are explained in terms of wave vector matching of the spin polarized electron states at the ferromagnetic / nanotube interfaces.
Centimeter scale aligned carbon nanotube arrays are grown from nanoparticle metal catalyst pads. We find the nanotubes grow both with and against the wind. A metal underlayer provides in-situ electrical contact to these long nanotubes with no post growth processing needed. Using the electrically contacted nanotubes, we study electrical transport of 0.4 cm long nanotubes. The source drain I-V curves are quantitatively described by a classical, diffusive model. Our measurements show that the outstanding transport properties of nanotubes can be extended to the cm scale and open the door to large …
We present atomically-resolved STM images of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) embedded in a crystalline nanotube rope. Although they may be interpreted as of a chiral nanotube, the images are more consistently explained a an achiral armchair tube with a quenched twist distortion. The existence of quenched twists in SWNTs in ropes might explain the fact that both as-grown bulk nanotube material and individual ropes have insulator-like conductivity at low temperature.
Raman measurements in carbon allotropes are generally associated with the exploration of the vibrational modes. Here, we present a theory of the non-resonant inelastic light scattering accompanied by the excitations of intersubband electron-hole pairs in carbon nanotubes and predict the selection rules and polarization properties of the dominant intersubband Raman active modes.
We have contacted single-walled carbon nanotubes after aligning the tubes by the use of surface acoustic waves. The acoustoelectric current has been measured at 4.2 K and a probing of the low-dimensional electronic states by the surface acoustic wave has been detected. By decreasing the acoustic wavelength resulting in an adjustment to the length of the defined carbon nanotube constriction a quantization of the acoustoelectric current has been observed.
Photoluminescent carbon nanotubes are expected to become versatile room-temperature single-photon sources that have applications in quantum information processing. Quantum emission from carbon nanotubes is often induced by localization of excitons or exciton-exciton annihilation. Here, we modify the local energy landscape of excitons by decorating nanoscale pentacene particles onto air-suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes. Directional exciton diffusion from the undecorated region to the decorated site is demonstrated, suggesting exciton trapping induced by local dielectric screening from p…
We study theoretically the interactions of excitonic states with surface electromagnetic modes of small-diameter (~1 nm) semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes. We show that these interactions can result in strong exciton-surface-plasmon coupling. The exciton absorption lineshapes exhibit the line (Rabi) splitting $~0.1-0.3$ eV as the exciton energy is tuned to the nearest interband surface plasmon resonance of the nanotube. We expect this effect to open a path to new optoelectronic device applications of semiconducting carbon nanotubes.
Direct measurements of the diffusion length of excitons in air-suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes are reported. Photoluminescence microscopy is used to identify individual nanotubes and to determine their lengths and chiral indices. Exciton diffusion length is obtained by comparing the dependence of photoluminescence intensity on the nanotube length to numerical solutions of diffusion equations. We find that the diffusion length in these clean, as-grown nanotubes is significantly longer than those reported for micelle-encapsulated nanotubes.
We demonstrate theoretically that an off-resonant circularly polarized electromagnetic field can induce a persistent current in carbon nanotubes, which corresponds to electron rotation about the nanotube axis. As a consequence, the nanotubes acquire magnetic moment along the axis, which depends on their crystal structure and can be detected in state-of-the-art measurements. This effect and related phenomena are analyzed within the developed Floquet theory describing the electronic properties of the nanotubes irradiated by the field.
