Cotunneling and one-dimensional localization in individual single-wall carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the resistance of disordered single-wall carbon nanotubes increases with decreasing temperature, revealing Coulomb blockade effects and cotunneling processes that influence charge transport.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the temperature-dependent resistance behavior and the role of cotunneling in charge transport within disordered nanotubes.

Findings

Resistance increases dramatically at lower temperatures.

Activated behavior consistent with Coulomb blockade observed.

Charge hopping via cotunneling causes changes in activation energy.

Abstract

We report on the temperature dependence of the intrinsic resistance of long individual disordered single-wall carbon nanotubes. The resistance grows dramatically as the temperature is reduced, and the functional form is consistent with an activated behavior. These results are described by Coulomb blockade along a series of quantum dots. We occasionally observe a kink in the activated behavior that reflects the change of the activation energy as the temperature range is changed. This is attributed to charge hopping events between non-adjacent quantum dots, which is possible through cotunneling processes.