Large-scale fabrication of carbon nanowire networks using kilo-electron-volt ion beam

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were irradiated by 40 keV C, N, Si, and Ar ion beams with different doses, respectively, and the irradiation-induced structural change was investigated by Scanning electron spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The large-scale fabrication of carbon nanowire networks (CNNs) is observed for all the incident ions. For lighter ions, the threshold dose for the formation of CNNs is higher than the heavier ions, which is relevant to the fact that the heavier ions produced more collision cascades than lighter ions. Carbon nanotubes irradiated with different doses show that the formation of CNNs proceeds through three periods: local amorphization of nanotubes, formation of simple junctions, and the formation of CNNs. Our results show ion beam irradiation technology is a useful tool to manipulate nanoscale structure and would be useful to realize interconnections between nanodevices for future device application with higher integration degree and compound materials with higher properties.