Conduction properties of semiconductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes

AbstractWe have undertaken low-temperature conduction measurements on arc-discharge synthesized, semiconducting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT). The diameters of these are in the range 2.5–10 nm, corresponding to the sizes just above single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), up to middle-sized MWNTs. The energy gap, inversely related to the diameter, varies strongly in this range, and consequently there is a strong dependence of the transport on tube diameter. Certain transport characteristics are much alike those found in SWNTs, such as the ON-state resistance and Coulomb blockade. However, the transport gap has a more complex behavior than the corresponding one in semiconducting SWNTs, a…