Moh. R. Amer

The influence of substrate in determining the band gap of metallic carbon nanotubes.

We report a detailed comparison of ultraclean suspended and on-substrate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in order to quantify the effect of the substrate interaction on the effective band gap of metallic nanotubes. Here, individual CNTs are grown across two sets of electrodes, resulting in one segment of the nanotube that is suspended across a trench and the other segment supported on the substrate. The suspended segment shows a significant change in the conductance (ΔG/G = 0.84) with applied gate voltage, which is attributed to a small band gap. The on-substrate segment, however, only shows a change in the measured conductance of ΔG/G = 0.11. A Landauer model is used to fit the low bias conductance of these devices. From these fits, the band gaps in the suspended region range from 75 to 100 meV but are only 5-14.3 meV when the nanotube is in contact with the substrate. The decreased band gap is attributed to localized doping caused by trapped charges in the substrate that result in inhomogeneous broadening of the Fermi energy, which in turn limits the ability to modulate the conductance.

A Comparison of Photocurrent Mechanisms in Quasi-Metallic and Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube pn-Junctions.

We present a comparative study of quasi-metallic (Eg ∼ 100 meV) and semiconducting (Eg ∼ 1 eV) suspended carbon nanotube pn-junctions introduced by electrostatic gating. While the built-in fields of the quasi-metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller than those of the semiconducting CNTs, their photocurrent is 2 orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding semiconducting CNT devices under the same experimental conditions. Here, the large exciton binding energy in semiconducting nanotubes (∼400 meV) makes it difficult for excitons to dissociate into free carriers that can contribute to an externally measured photocurent. As such, semiconducting nanotubes require a phonon to assist in the exciton dissociation process, in order to produce a finite photocurrent, while quasi-metallic nanotubes do not. The quasi-metallic nanotubes have much lower exciton binding energies (∼50 meV) as well as a continuum of electronic states to decay into and, therefore, do not require the absorption of a phonon in order to dissociate, making it much easier for these excitons to produce a photocurrent. We performed detailed simulations of the band energies in quasi-metallic and semiconducting nanotube devices in order to obtain the electric field profiles along the lengths of the nanotubes. These simulations predict maximum built-in electric field strengths of 2.3 V/μm for semiconducting and 0.032-0.22 V/μm for quasi-metallic nanotubes under the applied gate voltages used in this study.

Zener tunneling and photocurrent generation in quasi-metallic carbon nanotube pn-devices.

We investigate the electronic and optoelectronic properties of quasi-metallic nanotube pn-devices, which have smaller band gaps than most known bulk semiconductors. These carbon nanotube-based devices deviate from conventional bulk semiconductor device behavior due to their low-dimensional nature. We observe rectifying behavior based on Zener tunneling of ballistic carriers instead of ideal diode behavior, as limited by the diffusive transport of carriers. We observe substantial photocurrents at room temperature, suggesting that these quasi-metallic pn-devices may have a broader impact in optoelectronic devices. A new technique based on photocurrent spectroscopy is presented to identify the unique chirality of nanotubes in a functional device. This chirality information is crucial in obtaining a theoretical understanding of the underlying device physics that depends sensitively on nanotube chirality, as is the case for quasi-metallic nanotube devices. A detailed model is developed to fit the observed I-V characteristics, which enables us to verify the band gap from these measurements as well as the dimensions of the insulating tunneling barrier region.

Anomalous Kink Behavior in the Current-Voltage Characteristics of Suspended Carbon Nanotubes

AbstractElectrically-heated suspended, nearly defect-free, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibiting negative differential conductance in the high bias regime experience a sudden drop in current (or “kink”). The bias voltage at the kink (Vkink) is found to depend strongly on gate voltage, substrate temperature, and gas environment. After subtracting the voltage drop across the contacts, however, the kink bias voltages converge around 0.2 V, independent of gate voltage and gas environment. This bias voltage of 0.2 V corresponds to the threshold energy of optical phonon emission. This phenomenon is corroborated by simultaneously monitoring the Raman spectra of these nanotubes as a function of bias voltage. At the kink bias voltage, the G band Raman modes experience a sudden downshift, further indicating threshold optical phonon emission. A Landauer model is used to fit these kinks in various gas environments where the kink is modeled as a change in the optical phonon lifetime, which corresponds to a change in the non-equilibrium factor that describes the existence of hot phonons in the system.

Raman Sensitive Degradation and Etching Dynamics of Exfoliated Black Phosphorus

Layered black phosphorus has drawn much attention due to the existence of a band gap compared to the widely known graphene. However, environmental stability of black phosphorus is still a major issue, which hinders the realization of practical device applications. Here, we spatially Raman map exfoliated black phosphorus using confocal fast-scanning technique at different time intervals. We observe a Raman intensity modulation for , B2g, and modes. This Raman modulation is found to be caused by optical interference, which gives insights into the oxidation mechanism. Finally, we examine the fabrication compatible PMMA coating as a viable passivation layer. Our measurements indicate that PMMA passivated black phosphorus thin film flakes can stay pristine for a period of 19 days when left in a dark environment, allowing sufficient time for further nanofabrication processing. Our results shed light on black phosphorus degradation which can aid future passivation methods.

Black Phosphorus Field-Effect Transistors with Work Function Tunable Contacts

Black phosphorus (BP) has been recently rediscovered as an elemental two-dimensional (2D) material that shows promising results for next generation electronics and optoelectronics because of its intrinsically superior carrier mobility and small direct band gap. In various 2D field-effect transistors (FETs), the choice of metal contacts is vital to the device performance, and it is a major challenge to reach ultralow contact resistances for highly scaled 2D FETs. Here, we experimentally show the effect of a work function tunable metal contact on the device performance of BP FETs. Using palladium (Pd) as the contact material, we employed the reaction between Pd and H2 to form a Pd-H alloy that effectively increased the work function of Pd and reduced the Schottky barrier height (ΦB) in a BP FET. When the Pd-contacted BP FET was exposed to 5% hydrogen concentrated Ar, the contact resistance (Rc) improved between the Pd electrodes and BP from ∼7.10 to ∼1.05 Ω·mm, surpassing all previously reported contact resistances in the literature for BP FETs. Additionally, with exposure to 5% hydrogen, the transconductance of the Pd-contacted BP FET was doubled. The results shown in this study illustrate the significance of choosing the right contact material for high-performance BP FETs in order to realize the real prospect of BP in electronic applications.

Competing Photocurrent Mechanisms in Quasi‐Metallic Carbon Nanotube pn Devices

Photodetectors based on quasi-metallic carbon nanotubes exhibit unique optoelectronic properties. Due to their small bandgap, photocurrent generation is possible at room temperature. The origin of this photocurrent is investigated to determine the underlying mechanism, which can be photothermoelectric effect or photovoltaic effect, depending on the bandgap magnitude of the quasi-metallic nanotube.

Single Event Effects in Carbon Nanotube-Based Field Effect Transistors Under Energetic Particle Radiation

We present results from proton radiation experiments with carbon nanotube field effect transistors. Single event effects were observed consisting of drops in current, with very long durations (100 s of ms), and sudden, discrete switching events between quantized current levels. These studies are important for the development and understanding of advanced nano-electronic devices operating in the space radiation environment.

Electrical Transport and Channel Length Modulation in Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors

We perform finite-element analysis modeling and characterization of quasi-ballistic electrical transport in semiconducting carbon nanotube field effect transistors, and fit experimental electrical transport data from both suspended and on-substrate single-walled carbon nanotube transistors fabricated using chemical vapor deposition. Previous studies have focused on modeling ballistic transport in carbon nanotube field effect transistors, but have ignored the spatial dependence of the resistance, voltage, and Fermi energy. These spatial variations play an important role in several high voltage effects that are particularly important in the quasi-ballistic transport regime where most current or near-term devices operate. We show the relationship between device geometry and pinch-off, current saturation, and channel length modulation in the quantum capacitance regime. Output resistance is found to increase with gate coupling efficiency with a power law behavior. This model can be used for the extraction of device properties from experimental data and as a design environment tool.

Evidence for structural phase transitions and large effective band gaps in quasi-metallic ultra-clean suspended carbon nanotubes

AbstractWe report evidence for a structural phase transition in individual suspended metallic carbon nanotubes by examining their Raman spectra and electron transport under electrostatic gate potentials. The current-gate voltage characteristics reveal anomalously large quasi-metallic band gaps as high as 240 meV, the largest reported to date. For nanotubes with band gaps larger than 200 meV, we observe a pronounced M-shape profile in the gate dependence of the 2D band (or G’ band) Raman frequency. The pronounced dip (or softening) of the phonon mode near zero gate voltage can be attributed to a structural phase transition (SPT) that occurs at the charge neutrality point (CNP). The 2D band Raman intensity also changes abruptly near the CNP, providing further evidence for a change in the lattice symmetry and a possible SPT. Pronounced non-adiabatic effects are observed in the gate dependence of the G band Raman mode, however, this behavior deviates from non-adiabatic theory near the CNP. For nanotubes with band gaps larger than 200 meV, non-adiabatic effects should be largely suppressed, which is not observed experimentally. This data suggests that these large effective band gaps are primarily caused by a SPT to an insulating state, which causes the large modulation observed in the conductance around the CNP. Possible mechanisms for this SPT are discussed, including electron-electron (e.g., Mott) and electron-phonon (e.g., Peierls) driven transitions.