Suspended Carbon Nanotube Quantum Wires with Two Gates

TL;DR

This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of suspended single-walled carbon nanotube devices with two gates, demonstrating improved electrical properties and potential for studying electromechanical effects in quantum systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel suspended nanotube device architecture with dual gates, enabling cleaner quantum interference and electron transport studies compared to substrate-bound nanotubes.

Findings

Suspended nanotubes show reduced hysteresis and cleaner quantum interference patterns.

High-field saturation currents are lower due to reduced phonon scattering.

The dual-gate design opens avenues for electromechanical investigations.

Abstract

Suspended single-walled carbon nanotube devices comprised of high quality electrical contacts and two electrostatic gates per device are obtained. Compared to nanotubes pinned on substrates, the suspended devices exhibit little hysteresis related to environmental factors and manifest as cleaner Fabry-Perot interferometers or single electron transistors. The high-field saturation currents in suspended nanotubes related to optical phonon or zone boundary phonon scattering are significantly lower due to the lack of efficient heat sinking. The multiple gate design may also facilitate future investigation of electromechanical properties of nanotube quantum systems.