Self-assembly of carbon nanotubes using magnetic positioning and alignment by drop drying

• A combination of magnetic field and drying-mediated assembly has been used.
• The residual Ni catalyst located at one end of the MWCNT gets attracted to the Ni pattern.
• Fabricated device shows ohmic behavior and the resistance is found to be 4 kΩ.

The electronic properties of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have generated great interest in the field of Nanoelectronics. However there are certain bottle-necks, e.g., nanoscale manipulations involving the use of sophisticated instruments like Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM), pre-processing, post-processing and positioning of the CNTs at the targeted positions. These bottle-necks should be overcome in order to make use of the excellent electronic properties of the CNTs in functional nanoscale devices. Multi-Walled CNTs (MWCNTs) synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition are used in as-synthesized condition without any post-processing. The microelectrodes are fabricated using Electron Beam Lithography. Under the influence of an external magnetic field, the CNTs are self-assembled into the target electrodes and aligned using the drop drying phenomenon. The I–V characteristic of the device is studied.

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