Radio-frequency transmission characteristics of a multi-walled carbon nanotube

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered as promising candidates for transmission lines as well as microcircuit interconnects in future nanoscale electronic systems. Owing to the growing interest in the use of microwave signals, understanding the transmission properties at high frequencies is essential to assess the applicability of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). In this work, we measured two-port properties of individual MWNTs using a network analyser from a frequency of 0.5 to 50 GHz. The radio-frequency transmission parameters were obtained from the measured S-parameter data. Our results show the frequency dependence of the equivalent resistance of MWNTs, which decreases with increasing frequency. This confirms that metallic CNTs will be useful for transmitting GHz signals in nanoelectric devices.