Fabrication of Coulomb blockade device utilizing the 0.34 nm interlayer spacing in a multiwalled carbon nanotube

摘要

The mechanism for electrical conduction between the layers of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) is investigated. Enhancement of the longitudinal conductance of MWNTs is observed with increasing bias voltage. The effect is explained by a model, in which interlayer radial gaps (0.34 nm) are assumed to act as tunnel barriers. Based on this concept, we propose and demonstrate a novel nanosized tunnel device in a MWNT. Coulomb blockade oscillations with a charging energy of 15 meV are observed at 4.2 K, indicating that there is a tunneling barrier at the fine 0.34 nm interlayer spacing that is useful for tunnel junction device formation.