Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Carbon Nanotubes

What Is A Carbon Nanotube?

A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in a cylindrical nanostructure. They are members of the fullerene family, which includes fullerenes and graphene.

Carbon nanotubes have a very large aspect ratio, meaning they are very long and thin. There are two main types of carbon nanotubes – single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs). SWNTs are made of a single layer of graphene rolled into a cylinder, while MWNTs are made of multiple layers of graphene rolled into concentric cylinders.

What Makes Carbon Nanotubes Good Semiconductors?

Several key features make carbon nanotubes promising candidates for semiconductors:

• Tunable Bandgap: Unlike silicon, carbon nanotubes can be metallic or semiconducting depending on their structure. This structure is defined by their ‘chirality’, a term for how the graphene sheet is rolled up to form the tube. By controlling the rolling pattern, the bandgap of the nanotube can be customised, allowing for precise control over its conductivity. This is a significant advantage for designing specific electronic components.
• Ballistic Transport: Electrons in high-quality carbon nanotubes can travel long distances without scattering, a phenomenon known as ballistic transport. This translates to very high current densities and faster operation compared to conventional semiconductor materials like silicon or gallium arsenide.
• Exceptional Thermal Conductivity: Carbon nanotubes are fantastic at conducting heat away from themselves, making them a strong alternative for designing high-performance electronics.
• High Strength & Flexibility: Carbon nanotubes are incredibly strong and lightweight due to their structure. This opens doors for applications in flexible electronics that can be bent and stretched without compromising performance.

How Can Carbon Nanotubes Be Useful In Electronics?

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have several properties that make them attractive for several electronic applications. Here is a rundown of how they can be game-changers within certain applications:

• Transistors: Due to their tunable conductivity and ballistic electron transport, CNTs could be the building blocks for much faster and more efficient transistors compared to current silicon-based ones. This could lead to faster processors, lower power consumption in devices, and potentially even entirely new types of electronics.
• Transparent Conductors: CNTs can be fabricated into thin films that are highly conductive and transparent. This could replace Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), which is used in these applications currently, thereby offering advantages like better flexibility and potentially lower cost.
• Interconnects: The tiny size and excellent conductivity of CNTs make them ideal candidates for miniaturised interconnects within electronic devices. This allows for even denser packing of components and potentially smaller and more powerful electronics.
• Sensors: CNTs are highly sensitive to their environment, making them ideal for various sensors. They can detect changes in temperature, pressure, gases, and even biological molecules. This opens doors for highly sensitive and miniaturised sensors for medical devices, environmental monitoring, and even wearable electronics.
• Field Emission Displays (FEDs): Due to their sharp tips and excellent electron emission properties, CNTs could be used in FEDs, a potential successor to traditional LCDs. FEDs offer advantages like lower power consumption, higher brightness, and potentially thinner and more flexible displays.

What Are The Advantages & Disadvantages Of Carbon Nanotubes In Electronics?

Like any other semiconductor material positioning to usurp silicon as the workhorse of the industry, CNTs have their own sets of benefits and challenges to consider.

Advantages Of Carbon Nanotubes

• Superior Electrical Properties: CNTs have a tunable bandgap and enable ballistic transport for electrons, making it superior compared to silicon in terms of control, speed of operation and current densities.
• Exceptional Thermal Conductivity: Efficient heat dissipation within CNTs prevents malfunctions caused by overheating.
• High Strength & Flexibility: These properties of CNTs enable the development of bendable and stretchable electronics.
• Potential For Miniaturisation: The tiny size of CNTs allows for denser packing of components in devices.
• Diverse Applications: CNTs have the potential to transform devices such as transistors, interconnects, and sensors, and bring about new technologies such as transparent conductors and field emission displays.

Disadvantages Of Carbon Nanotubes

• Production Challenges: Large-scale, cost-effective production of high-quality CNTs remains a hurdle.
• Chirality Control: Precise control over the ‘chirality’ (tube structure) is crucial for consistent semiconducting behaviour, which is difficult to achieve currently.
• Metallic Vs Semiconducting Mix: Current production methods often yield a mix of metallic and semiconducting CNTs. Efficient separation techniques are needed for reliable electronics.
• Potential Toxicity: Research on the health risks of CNTs is ongoing, and their long-term effects need further investigation.

Do Carbon Nanotubes Have A Future In Semiconductors?

The future of carbon nanotubes in semiconductors is promising, but they will have to overcome a few hurdles. As discussed above, carbon nanotubes have superior electrophysical properties compared to silicon, providing higher precision in control over conductivity and better heat dissipation. 

These are two of the most sought-after properties within semiconductor materials, and given that CNTs have already been studied significantly, there is a road to adaptability within the broader semiconductor ecosystem. However, production is limited, the semiconductor-metallic mix is poorly understood and control over CNT chirality remains a hurdle.

The Road Ahead

• Research Focus: Scientists are actively developing methods for controlled CNT synthesis and separation techniques.
• Gradual Integration: Early adoption might involve integrating CNTs with silicon for specific applications, leveraging their strengths.
• Long-Term Potential: As production and control improve, CNTs have the potential to become the foundation for entirely new types of high-performance, flexible electronics.