Carbon Nanotubes

First author: Wasim khan Second author: Aniket.v.Warnoolkar

Department Of Electronics And Communication Gogte Institute Of Technology, Belgaum
Wasimkhan28@hotmail.co.uk Anik.apr06@gmail.com

Abstract---Electronics without silicon is unbelievable, but it will

come true with the evolution of diamond or carbon chip. Diamond chip or carbon chip is an electronic chip manufactured on a diamond structural carbon wafer. It can be also defined as the electronic component manufactured using carbon as the wafer. By using carbon as the manufacturing material, we can achieve smaller, faster and stronger chips. The chips would be most useful in devices located near hot-burning engines, such as those used in automobiles or airplanes. There has been a development in making smaller prototypes of carbon chip. A major component invented using carbon is "carbon nanotube"(CNT). They take the form of cylindrical carbon molecules and have novel properties that make them potentially useful in a wide variety of applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat. This paper highlights the properties of carbon nanotubes which is widely used in most modern microprocessors and it will be a major component. We further discuss about the advantages, disadvantages, applications and the future scopes of carbon nanotube.

The systems target cost-sensitive applications such as plastic solar cells and RFID tags on flexible polymer substrates. The name diamond chip comes from the fact that Lonsdaleite is an sp3 bondage allotropic form of carbon i.e. 3dimentional CNT and the Crystal structure of Lonsdaleite looks exactly like diamond.

Cabon nanotube II. TYPES

I. INTRODUCTION Carbon--the basis of all organic compounds--appears destined to supplant silicon as the material of choice for future semiconductors. According to researchers, various structures based on the element that sits just above silicon on the Periodic Table can surpass silicon's abilities in thermal performance, frequency range and perhaps even superconductivity.

A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) may be thought of as a single atomic layer thick sheet of graphite (called graphene) rolled into a seamless cylinder. One useful application of SWNTs is in the development of the first intramolecular field effect transistors (FET) Multi -walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) consist of several concentric nanotube shells. Carbon nanotubes are being looked at closely for interconnect materials in CMOS devices below 22 nm. Depending upon the manner the graphene planes are cut before rolling, different types of carbon nano-tubes are obtained. Based on the geometrical structures, carbon nano-tubes are classified into the following:

Diamond chip The major component using carbon is Carbon Nanotube (CNT). It is a nano - size cylinder of carbon atoms. They are made of one or several concentric walls in which carbon atoms are arranged in hexagonal pattern, measuring several tens of microns in length and less than a few nanometres in diameter.

Armchair, Zig-zag Chiral (helical)

Types of CNT It is possible to recognize zigzag, armchair, and chiral CNTs just by following the pattern across the diameter of the tubes, and analysing their cross-sectional structure. Depending upon the size of graphene area folded onto a cylinder , nano-tubes of different radii are obtained. These tubes are extremely long and possess different symmetry. III. PROPERTIES

electrons are not free to flow along those directions unless they are given extra energy. However, in certain special directions graphene is metallic, and electrons flow easily along those directions. This property is not obvious in bulk graphite, since there is always a conducting metallic path which can connect any two points, and hence graphite conducts electricity. However, when graphene is rolled up to make the nanotube, a special direction is selected, the direction along the axis of the nanotube. Sometimes this is a metallic direction, and sometimes it is semiconducting, so some nanotubes are metals, and others are semiconductors. They are stronger than steel (comparatively) and tougher than diamond. Carbon nanotubes are frequently referred to as onedimensional. The tubes have very less diameter compared to traditional copper wires used in chips and as the connection count reaches millions, it generates huge difference in size. Building block of computer chips is transistor, the processor in your PC has millions of transistor in it. Traditionally these transistors are connected via carbon wire; just like those in electronic circuits but thinner. To achieve high performance on a smaller size these wires have been shrunked over years to pack more in less space.

A) Diamond
Pure Diamond structural carbon is non-conducting in nature. In order to make it conducting we have to perform doping process. We are using Boron as the p-type doping Agent and the Nitrogen as the n-type doping agent.Diamond has greater thermal conductivity, which lets us move heat out of a diamond transistor more quickly to prevent it from getting too hot. Because diamond transistors can be hotter, are more easily cooled, can tolerate higher voltages before breaking down, and electrons move more easily in them; they make better transistors than other materials. Diamond would be ideal for electronic devices if only we could manufacture it inexpensively and with precisely the desired structure.

IV.

PREPARATION

A) Vacuum method:
In a vacuum chamber the metals tantalum and iron are vapourized, which settles in layers on a silicon wafer. Then the coated wafer is placed at one end of a quartz tube, which is then inserted into a furnace. At the wafers end of the tube, the furnace temperature was 475 degrees C; but at the opposite end, the temperature varied. Ethylene gas is pumped into the tube from the end opposite to the wafer. When the temperature at that end approached 800 degrees, the ethylene decomposed, and the iron on the wafer catalyzed the formation of carbon nanotubes.

B) Carbon Nanotubes
The structure of the nanotube influences its properties - including electrical and thermal conductivity, density, and lattice structure. Both type and diameter are important. The wider the diameter of the nanotube, the more it behaves like graphite. The narrower the diameter of the nanotube, the more its intrinsic properties depends upon its specific type. Nanotubes are incredibly stiff and tough mechanically and thus are the world's strongest fibers. Nanotubes as well as diamond conduct heat at room temperature. Nanotubes are very sharp, and thus can be used as probe tips for scanningprobe microscopes, and field-emission electron sources for lamps and displays. Understanding the electronic properties of the graphene sheet helps to understand the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes. Graphene is a zero-gap semiconductor; for most directions in the graphene sheet, there is a bandgap, and

B) Arc evaporation method:

The arc-evaporation method produces the best quality nanotubes, It involves passing a current of about 50 amps between two graphite electrodes in helium atmosphere. The graphite vaporises, with some of it condensing on the walls of the reaction vessel and some of it on the cathode. It is the deposit on the cathode which contains the carbon nanotubes. Single-walled nanotubes are produced when Co and Ni or some other metal is added to the anode. C) Catalyst method carbon nanotubes are also made by passing a carboncontaining gas, such as a hydrocarbon, over a catalyst. The catalyst consists of nano-sized particles of metal, usually Fe, Co or Ni. These particles catalyse the breakdown of the gaseous molecules into carbon, and then a tube with a metal particle at the tip grows. single-walled nanotubes can also be produced catalytically.

The perfection of carbon nanotubes produced in this way has generally been poorer than those made by arcevaporation, but great improvements in the technique have been made in recent years. The big advantage of catalytic synthesis over arc-evaporation is that it can be scaled up for volume production. D) Device Fabrication: Find 'em and wire 'em: This is a technique for synthesizing carbon nanotubes directly on silicon substrates, locating individual nanotubes, and electrically contacting nanotubes with metallic electrodes. The general idea is to "find 'em and wire 'em", as opposed to attempting to self- assemble nanotubes in place, or deposit nanotubes or wires at random and hope to contact some nanotubes. The great advantage of the find 'em and wire 'em technique is that customized devices can be made. Some examples are below. Atomic force microscope (AFM) image of crossed nanotubes (green) contacted by Au electrodes (yellow) using the "find 'em and wire 'em" technique. E) Laser ablation: In the laser ablation process, a pulsed laser vaporizes a graphite target in a high temperature reactor while an inert gas is bled into the chamber. The nanotubes develop on the cooler surfaces of the reactor, as the vaporized carbon condenses. A water-cooled surface may be included in the system to collect the nanotubes. This can be used to produce single-walled tubes with high yield. Techniques have been developed to produce nanotubes in sizeable quantities. Large quantities of nanotubes can be synthesized by these methods; advances in catalysis and continuous growth processes are making CNTs more commercially viable. V. APPLICATIONS

long, narrow shape make them look like miniature needles, so it makes sense that they can function like a needle at the cellular level. Medical researchers are using this property by attaching molecules that are attracted to cancer cells to nanotubes to deliver drugs directly to diseased cells. C) nanotechnology: carbon nanotubes is of potential use in controlling other nanoscale structures due to its strength and flexibility, which suggests they will have an important role in nonotechnology. D) Structural : 1) clothes: waterproof tear-resistant cloth fibers 2) combat jackets: it uses carbon nanotubes as ultrastrong fibers and to monitor the condition of the wearer. 3) concrete: In concrete, they increase the tensile strength, and halt crack propagation. 4) polyethylene: Researchers have found that adding them to polyethylene increases the polymer's elastic modulus by 30%. 5) sports equipment: Stronger and lighter tennis rackets, bike parts, golf balls, golf clubs, golf shaft and baseball bats. 6) ultrahigh-speed flywheels: The high strength/weight ratio enables very high speeds to be achieved. E) Electromagnetic: 1)artificial muscles 2) buckypaper : a thin sheet made from nanotubes that are 250 times stronger than steel and 10 times lighter that could be used as a heat sink for chipboards, a backlight for LCD screens or as a faraday cage to protect electrical devices/aeroplanes. 3) chemical nanowires: Carbon nanotubes additionally can also be used to produce nanowires of other chemicals, such as gold or zinc oxide. These nanowires in turn can be used to cast nanotubes of other chemicals, such as gallium nitride. These can have very different properties from CNTs - for example, gallium nitride nanotubes are hydrophilic, while CNTs are hydrophobic, giving them possible uses in organic chemistry that CNTs could not be used for. 4)computer circuits: A nanotube formed by joining nanotubes of two different diameters end to end can act as a diode, suggesting the possibility of constructing electronic computer circuits entirely out of nanotubes. Because of their good thermal properties, CNTs can also be used to dissipate heat from tiny computer chips. The longest electricity conducting circuit is a fraction of an inch long. 5) conductive films: drawing transparent high strength swathes of SWNT is a functional production technique. A transparent electrically conductive films of carbon nanotubes is been developed to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in LCDs, touch screens, and photovoltaic devices. Carbon nanotube films are substantially more

A) NASA: researchers at NASA are combining carbon nanotubes with other materials into composites as shown in the photo below that can be used to build lightweight spacecraft. B) Medical: property of nanotubes is that they can easily penetrate membrances such as cell walls. In fact, nanotubes

mechanically robust than ITO films, making them ideal for high reliability touch screens and flexible displays. Nanotube films show promise for use in displays for computers, cell phones, PDAs, and ATMs. 6) electric motor brushes: Conductive carbon nanotubes have been used for several years in brushes for commercial electric motors. They replace traditional carbon black, which is mostly impure spherical carbon fullerenes. The nanotubes improve electrical and thermal conductivity because they stretch through the plastic matrix of the brush. Nanotube composite motor brushes are better-lubricated (from the matrix), cooler-running (both from better lubrication and superior thermal conductivity), less brittle (more matrix, and fiber reinforcement), stronger and more accurately moldable (more matrix). Since brushes are a critical failure point in electric motors, and also don't need much material, they became economical before almost any other application. 7) light bulb filament: alternative to tungsten filaments in incandescent lamps. 8) magnets: MWNTs coated with magnetite 9) optical ignition: A layer of 29% iron enriched SWNT is placed on top of a layer of explosive material such as PETN, and can be ignited with a regular camera flash. 10) solar cells: GE's carbon nanotube diode has a photovoltaic effect. Nanotubes can replace ITO in some solar cells to act as a transparent conductive film in solar cells to allow light to pass to the active layers and generate photocurrent. 11) superconductor: Nanotubes have been shown to be superconducting at low temperatures. 12) capacitive: bound to the charge plates of capacitors in order to dramatically increase the surface area and therefore energy storage ability. 13) displays: One use for nanotubes that has already been developed is as extremely fine electron guns, which could be used as miniature cathode ray tubes in thin high-brightness low-energy low-weight displays. This type of display would consist of a group of many tiny CRTs, each providing the electrons to hit the phosphor of one pixel, instead of having one giant CRT whose electrons are aimed using electric and magnetic fields. These displays are known as field emission displays (FEDs). F) Electronic:

1) Transistors and diodes 2) Field emitter for flat -panel displays 3) Cellular- phone signal amplifier 4) Ion storage for batteries G) GENERAL 1) air pollution filter: Future applications of nanotube membranes include filtering carbon dioxide from power plant emissions. 2) biotech container: Nanotubes can be opened and filled with materials such as biological molecules, raising the possibility of applications in biotechnology. 3) water filter: Recently nanotube membranes have been developed for use in filtration. This technique can purportedly reduce desalination costs by 75%. The tubes are so thin that small particles (like water molecules) can pass through them, while larger particles (such as the chloride ions in salt) are blocked. H) Mechanical 1)oscillator: fastest known oscillators (> 50 GHz). 2) liquid flow array: Liquid flows up to five orders of magnitude faster than predicted through array. 3) slick surface: slicker than Teflon and waterproof 4) Materials strengthener Carbon nanotubes have already been used as composite fibers in polymers and concrete to improve the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of the bulk product.

electronic applications: graphene ribbon

ADVANTAGES Electrons can flow through carbon nanotubes 10 times faster than they can in circuits made using silicon carbon nanotubes can carry 100 times the current cnt can dissipate 20 times the heat of circuits made with silicon. Carbon nanotubes in transistors can also amplify about 20 times more current than conventional silicon-based transistors, Smaller components are possible. It works at higher temperature. Faster than silicon chips. Larger power handling capacity. Carbon nanotube Applications Information and Communications, Materials and Manufacturing, Biomedical, Energy and Environmental, Transportation

Consumer goods. DISADVANTAGES: Fabrication:At present, nanotubes cannot be placed into a circuit. The major hurdles that must be jumped for carbon nanotubes to find prominent places in circuits relate to fabrication difficulties. The production of electrical circuits with carbon nanotubes are very different from the traditional IC fabrication process. The IC fabrication process is somewhat like sculpture - films are deposited onto a wafer and pattern-etched away. Because carbon nanotubes are fundamentally different from films, carbon nanotube circuits can so far not be mass produced.
electricity cannot travel smoothly through diamond.

CONCLUSION: Carbon electronics developers are not aiming to go head-to-head with silicon semiconductors' mature process technology for perhaps a decade; instead, they are looking to create a whole new lineage of electronic capabilities, beginning with micron-sized devices reminiscent of the larger, early silicon transistors. Thus diamond chip replaces the need of silicon in every aspect in future generation. REFERENCE [1] http://www.seminarprojects.com/Thread-diamondchip?page=5