Title: Electrical and thermal transport in thin-film nanotube composites with applications to macroelectronics

Authors: S. Kumar, J. Y. Murthy, M. A. Alam

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285, USA. ' School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1285, USA

Abstract: Nanotube-based thin-film composites promise significant improvement over existing technologies in the performance of large area macroelectronics, organic electronics and in bio-chemical sensing applications. In this paper, we present an overview of recent research on the electrical and thermal performance of thin-film composites composed of random 2D dispersions of nanotubes in a substrate (host matrix). Results from direct simulations of electrical and thermal transport in these composites using a finite volume method are compared to those using an effective medium approximation. The role of contact physics and percolation in influencing electrical and thermal behaviour are explored, and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: nanotubes; thin film transistors; TFT; nanocomposites; percolation; effective medium approximation; EMA; nanotechnology; thin film composites; finite volume method; electrical transport; thermal transport; macroelectronics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2008.018947

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2008 Vol.2 No.3, pp.226 - 252

Published online: 25 Jun 2008 *

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