Investigation on nanotube-metal contacts under different contact types

•The side-contacted CNT/Ti contact and end-contacted CNT/TiC contact are investigated.•The CNT/TiC contact shows much lower contact resistance than the CNT/Ti contact.•The contact resistance between TiC and metallic CNT can be low down to ~6.8 kΩ.•The transmission coefficient and resistance of different kinds of contacts are calculated.•The contact characteristics are illustrated by wave-vector conserved transportation.

The contacts of the metallic or semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the Ti (side-contacted type) or TiC (end-contacted type) have been investigated by non-equilibrium Green׳s function approach. The transmission coefficient and resistance of the contacts are calculated. The study shows the contact resistance between TiC and metallic or semiconducting CNT is 2 and 4 orders of magnitude lower than that between Ti and metallic or semiconducting CNT, respectively. The contact resistance between TiC and metallic CNT can be low down to ~6.8 kΩ. The contact characteristics are illustrated by the wave-vector conservation of electron transportation between CNT and metal.