Electrical properties of buckled multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays in the diffusive regime

Materials Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science - Bangalore, 560012, India

^(a) nanda@mrc.iisc.ernet.in

Received: 8 July 2012
Accepted: 9 August 2012

Abstract

We report the geometrical effect of graded buckled multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays on the electrical transport properties in the diffusive regime, via successive breakdown caused by the Joule heating. This breakdown occurs in the straighter region. Empirical relations involving the current-carrying ability, resistance, breakdown power, threshold voltage, diameter and length of carbon nanotube arrays are discussed on the basis of an extensive set of experimental data along with justification. The experimental results are corroborated by the density functional tight-binding calculations of electronic band structure. The band gap decreases as buckleness increases leading to the enhancement in the current-carrying ability and elucidating the role of buckleness in carbon nanotubes.