Progress on Research of Contact Resistance of Carbon Nanotubes

• Main Authors: DAI Lifeng, AN Libao, CHEN Jia
• Format: Article
• Language: zho
• Published: Journal of Aeronautical Materials 2016-10-01
• Series: Journal of Aeronautical Materials
• Subjects: carbon nanotube; electrical contact resistance; the first principles; work function; methods for reducing resistance
• Online Access: http://jam.biam.ac.cn/CN/10.11868/j.issn.1005-5053.2016.5.015

The high contact resistance of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with metal is one key factor that retards the application of CNTs in micro- and nano-electronics devices. This paper reviews recent research progress on the contact resistance of CNTs from two aspects, they are the formation and improvement of the CNT's contact resistance. Theoretical studies of the contact resistance of CNTs using the first principles and experimental investigations into the effect of metal work function on the interface barrier were introduced. Results show that the contact resistance is low when there is a weak hybrid effect and large contact length between the metal and CNTs, and the closer the work function of the metal to that of the CNTs, the lower the barrier height. The commonly used methods for improving the contact resistance of CNTs, including ultrasonic nanowelding, high temperature annealing, metal deposition, and local Joule heating were presented, and the improvement of device performance using these methods was analysed. Among these methods, local Joule heating is more ideal at present time since it is with the advantages of simple operation, high degree of automation, less device damage, and low cost.