Design and Fabrication of Microheaters for Localized Carbon Nanotube Growth

This paper presents a reliable method for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at room temperature by using localized heating. A surface micromachining technique is used to create suspended microstructures for good thermal isolation. Pt resistors are integrated as the heating source, and the local growth temperature and electrical field can be controlled by the heater geometry and applied voltage. Growth of aligned nanotubes with diameters ranging from 1-10 nm has been demonstrated along the local E-field with a measured minimum resistance of approximately 12 kOmega. High-resolution thermal imaging was used to study the temperature distribution of the local heating.