J. Rybczynski

Receiving and transmitting light-like radio waves: Antenna effect in arrays of aligned carbon nanotubes

We present optical measurements of random arrays of aligned carbon nanotubes, and show that the response is consistent with conventional radio antenna theory. We first demonstrate the polarization effect, the suppression of the reflected signal when the electric field of the incoming radiation is polarized perpendicular to the nanotube axis. Next, we observe the interference colors of the reflected light from an array, and show that they result from the length matching antenna effect. This antenna effect could be used in a variety of optoelectronic devices, including THz and IR detectors.

Growth of large periodic arrays of carbon nanotubes

Large periodic arrays of carbon nanotubes have been grown by plasma-enhanced hot filament chemical vapor deposition on periodic arrays of nickel dots that were prepared by polystyrene nanosphere lithography. A single layer of self-assembled polystyrene spheres was first uniformly deposited on a silicon wafer as a mask, and then electron beam vaporization was used to deposit a nickel layer through the mask. The size of and spacing between the nickel dots are tunable by varying the diameter of the polystyrene spheres, which consequently determines the diameter and site density of carbon nanotubes. The technique can be scaled up at much lower cost than electron beam lithography.

Subwavelength waveguide for visible light

The authors demonstrate transmission of visible light through metallic coaxial nanostructures many wavelengths in length, with coaxial electrode spacing much less than a wavelength. Since the light frequency is well below the plasma resonance in the metal of the electrodes, the propagating mode reduces to the well-known transverse electromagnetic mode of a coaxial waveguide. They have thus achieved a faithful analog of the conventional coaxial cable for visible light.

Periodicity and alignment of large-scale carbon nanotubes arrays

Intensive studies have been carried out on controlling the periodicity and alignment of large-scale periodic arrays of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Catalytic dots are first prepared by self-assembly of polystyrene spheres on chromium-coated silicon substrates. Preparation parameters for CNTs growth including temperature, thickness of catalytic dots, plasma current intensity, and pregrowth plasma etching time are fine tuned and analyzed to achieve optimal combinations. High-quality aligned CNTs arrays with long-range periodicity and controlled diameters have been achieved. The good periodicity and alignment are critical for their applications such as photonic crystals, negative index of refraction, etc.

Hot electron effect in nanoscopically thin photovoltaic junctions

The open circuit voltage in ultrathin amorphous silicon solar cells is found to increase with light energy (frequency), due to extraction of hot electrons. The ultrathin nature of these junctions also leads to large internal electric fields, yielding reduced recombination and increased current. A simple phenomenological argument provides a qualitative understanding of these effects and gives guidelines for designing future, high-efficiency, hot electron solar cells.

Conformal oxide coating of carbon nanotubes

The International Roadmap for Ferroelectric Memories requires three-dimensional integration of high-dielectric materials onto metal interconnects or bottom electrodes by 2010. Here, we demonstrate the possibility of conformally coating carbon nanotubes with high-dielectric oxide as a first step toward ultrahigh integration density of three-dimensional ferroelectric random access memories.

Visible light diffraction studies on periodically aligned arrays of carbon nanotubes : Experimental and theoretical comparison

We have investigated visible light diffraction on honeycomb arrays of aligned carbon nanotubes grown on nickel nanoparticles prepared using the nanosphere lithography. A monolayer of 980nm polystyrene spheres was used as the mask for the deposition of nickel nanoparticles from which carbon nanotubes of 100nm in diameter and up to a couple of microns in length were grown. We show that a standard theory of diffraction from point scatterers explains all the observed diffraction features including Bragg’s law and the strong enhancement of the second and fifth order diffraction spots.

Large-scale triangular lattice arrays of sub-micron islands by microsphere self-assembly

A two-step masking technique has been developed to prepare large-scale triangular lattice arrays of uniform sub-micron islands on substrates at room temperature and at low cost by utilizing self-assembly of polystyrene microspheres. As an example, fabrication of large arrays of nickel islands with long-range periodicity and morphological uniformity is demonstrated, which is also ready to apply to fabricate periodic sub-micron islands of other materials on flat substrates in general. The islands so prepared resemble the shape of a hexagonal disc with its size determined by the size of the polystyrene spheres and its thickness variable in a wide range. These islands of various materials on different kinds of substrates can be used in a variety of applications such as catalysts to grow aligned carbon nanotubes and nanowires for 2D photonic crystals, nanoelectrode arrays for molecular devices, nanostructure building blocks for nanofabrications, etc.

Triangular lattice of carbon nanotube arrays for negative index of refraction and subwavelength lensing effect

Self-assembly of polystyrene microspheres has been utilized in a two-step masking technique to prepare triangular lattices of catalytic nanodots at low cost. Subsequent triangular lattices of aligned carbon nanotubes on a silicon substrate are achieved by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Nickel is used both in the nanodots and in the secondary mask. The triangular lattices of carbon nanotube arrays as two-dimensional photonic crystals show higher geometrical symmetry than the hexagonal lattices previously reported, enabling broader applications including negative index of refraction and subwavelength lensing effect.

Spectroscopic studies of arrays of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Spectroscopic observations are presented for carbon nanotubes grown on silicon and quartz substrates in a hexagonal honeycomb configuration using self-assembly nanosphere lithography and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. A white light source is used as an incident beam and light reflected from the surface of the carbon nanotubes results in a distinctive signature in the reflected spectrum. A comparison of non-periodic arrays and periodic arrays of carbon nanotubes show that the reflectance signature is only observed when the carbon nanotubes are oriented in a periodic array. Further observations regarding the light antenna effect observed in nonperiodic arrays are also reported. Theoretical curves show good agreement to experimentally observed phenomena. The unique optical properties of the arrays combined with the excellent mechanical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes indicate that these materials may find many uses in the field of optoelectronics.