Horizontally oriented carbon nanotubes coated with nanocrystalline carbon

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and multi-walled CNTs of length 2–5 mm were grown from Fe/Mo nanoparticles and Fe thin film catalyst, respectively, by thermal chemical vapor deposition. Following CNT growth, the CNTs were in-situ coated with nanocrystalline carbon shells of thickness 100–1500 nm. Horizontally oriented CNTs with carbon shells in the direction of the feeding gas were visible under a regular optical microscope. They were easily manipulated by optical manipulators, and CNT probes can thus be fabricated.