Localized and CMOS compatible growth of carbon nanotubes on a 3 × 3 μm2 microheater spot

We present the synthesis of carbon nanotubes utilizing a localized chemical vapor deposition method. The modified method relies on the usage of local heat sources defined in microscale resistive heaters through a standard polysilicon based surface micromachining process instead of a global reaction furnace heating. The presented method provides a remedy to amorphous carbon contamination of the exposed chip and most importantly a significant step towards the process integration of nanotubes into functional devices. Since the synthesis is carried out globally at room temperature, the suggested process is compatible with standard CMOS technology. The presented fabrication method is batch-fabrication and thus complementary to discrete fabrication techniques and serves to build devices to evaluate the electromechanical properties of carbon nanotubes.