Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition growth of carbon nanotubes on different metal underlayers

One important requirement for future applications of carbon nanotube electronic devices is the ability to controllably grow carbon nanotubes on metal electrodes. Here we show that it is possible to grow small diameter (< 10 nm) vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on different metal underlayers using plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. A crucial component is the insertion of a thin silicon layer between the metal and the catalyst particle. The electrical integrity of the metal electrode layer after plasma treatment and the quality of the metals as interconnects are also investigated.