Effect of gating and pressure on the electronic transport properties of crossed nanotube junctions: formation of a Schottky barrier

• Published in: Journal of physics. Condensed matter Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 112203 - 5
• Main Authors: Havu, P, Hashemi, M J, Kaukonen, M, Seppälä, E T, Nieminen, R M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 23.03.2011; Institute of Physics
• Subjects: Charge; Condensed matter; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Conductance; Contact; Electron transport; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport in multilayers, nanoscale materials and structures; Exact sciences and technology; Gating and risering; Nanostructure; Nanotubes; Physics; Surface double layers, schottky barriers, and work functions; Voltage; Electronic structure; Electrical conductivity; Schottky barriers; Density functional method; Carbon nanotubes; Electron charge distribution; Transport processes; Ab initio calculations; Atomic structure; Metal-semiconductor contacts
• ISSN: 0953-8984; 1361-648X
• DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/23/11/112203

The electronic transport properties of crossed carbon nanotube junctions are investigated using ab initio methods. The optimal atomic structures and the intertube distances of the junctions are obtained using van der Waals corrected density functional theory. The effect of gating on the intertube conductance of the junctions is explored, showing the charge accumulation to the nanotube contact and the charge depletion region at the metal-semiconductor Schottky contact. Finally, it is shown how the conductance of the junctions under the gate voltage is affected by pressure applied to the nanotube film.