Schottky barriers at metal-finite semiconducting carbon nanotube interfaces

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the electronic properties and charge transfer at metal-semiconducting carbon nanotube interfaces depend on nanotube length, revealing a transition from tunneling to thermally-activated conductance as length increases.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the length-dependent potential barriers and conductance mechanisms at metal-finite semiconducting carbon nanotube interfaces using a self-consistent tight-binding approach.

Findings

Potential barrier shape depends on charge transfer tail.

Injection barrier thickness is about half the nanotube length.

Conductance transitions from tunneling to thermally-activated with length.

Abstract

Electronic properties of metal-finite semiconducting carbon nanotube interfaces are studied as a function of the nanotube length using a self-consistent tight-binding theory. We find that the shape of the potential barrier depends on the long-range tail of the charge transfer, leading to an injection barrier thickness comparable to half of the nanotube length until the nanotube reaches the bulk limit. The conductance of the nanotube junction shows a transition from tunneling to thermally-activated transport with increasing nanotube length.