FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SUSPENDED SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANTOUBES COMPOSITE BEAMS

摘要

We report the fabrication and characterization of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) multilayer micropatterns and suspended micro-beams prepared by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. The SWCNT multilayer is etched using oxygen plasma with the masking layer of the photoresist, resulting in the feature size of 2 μm. Furthermore, it is released by etching a sacrificial layer of oxide in the hydrofluoric acid vapor. I-V measurements reveal that the resistance of suspended beams decreases upon release due to the exposed surface, excluding the effects of substrate. A high Young's modulus has been found on the range of 500-800 GPa due to the deviation of spring constants measured and the variation in thickness of beams. It is much higher than those of the other CNT-polymer composites due to the organized structure. Stiff CNT-polymer composite micropatterns and the suspended micro-beams may have potential applications for novel physical sensors, nano-switches, other M/NEMS devices, etc.