Title: 2D and 3D growth of carbon nanotubes on substrates, from nanometre to millimetre scales

Authors: A. John Hart, Hayden K. Taylor, Alexander H. Slocum

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. ' Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

Abstract: This paper presents a suite of techniques for making Carbon Nanotube (CNT) assemblies having hierarchical two- and three-dimensional organisation: conformal films of tangled single-walled CNTs are grown on silicon microstructures, millimetre-thick films and microstructures of aligned Multi-wall CNTs (MWNTs) are grown on flat silicon substrates, large-area CNT micropatterns are fabricated by post-growth dry embossing of aligned CNT films and 3D forms of CNTs are directly grown to take the shape of microfabricated template. These growth processes use catalyst thin-films deposited by electron beam evaporation and atmospheric-pressure thermal Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD), which is scalable from academic-level prototyping to industrial-level manufacturing.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; CNTs; nanostructures; growth; chemical vapour deposition; CVD; dry embossing; microfabrication; patterning; silicon microstructures; moulding; electron beam evaporation; thin films; nanomanufacturing; nanotechnology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2007.017989

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2007 Vol.1 No.6, pp.701 - 709

Published online: 25 Apr 2008 *

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