Diameter controlled growth of SWCNTs using Ru as catalyst precursors coupled with atomic hydrogen treatment

•The size distribution of catalysts and thus nanotubes diameters could be well controlled by growth parameters.•SWCNTs with high crystalline quality and with a narrow diameter distribution were synthesized.•A high content (∼90%) of s-SWCNTs was obtained.•The TFTs fabricated using these s-SWCNTs showed good electrical performance.

In this work, we present a practical approach for controlling single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) diameter distribution through thin film Ru catalyst, coupled with hydrogen pre-treatment. Uniform and stable Ru nanoclusters were obtained after dewetting the Ru thin films under atomic hydrogen pre-treatment. SWCNTs were synthetized by double hot filament chemical vapor deposition (d-HFCVD) on SiO2/Si substrates at different temperatures. We found that the temperature is an important synthesis parameter that influences the diameter distribution of the final SWCNTs. Statistical analysis of the Raman radial breathing modes evidences the growth of highly enriched semi-conducting SWCNTs (about 90%) with narrow diameter distribution that correlates directly with the catalyst particle size distribution. Electrical measurement results on as-grown SWCNTs show good thin-film transistor characteristics.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (163KB)Download full-size image