Multichannel ballistic transport in multiwall carbon nanotubes

Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Aug 19;95(8):086601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.086601. Epub 2005 Aug 15.

Abstract

The electric transport properties of an individual vertical multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) were studied in situ at room temperature in a scanning electron microscope chamber. It was found that the single MWCNT has a large current-carrying capacity, and the maximum current can reach 7.27 mA. At the same time, a very low resistance of about 34.4 ohms and a high conductance of about (460-490)G0 were obtained. The experimental observations imply a multichannel quasiballistic conducting behavior occurring in the MWCNTs with large diameter, which can be attributed to the participation of multiple walls in electrical transport and the large diameter of the MWCNTs.