Thin film transistors using preferentially grown semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube networks by water-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Nearly perfect semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube random network thin film transistors were fabricated and their reproducible transport properties were investigated. The networked single-walled carbon nanotubes were directly grown by water-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Optical analysis confirmed that the nanotubes were mostly semiconductors without clear metallic resonances in both the Raman and the UV-vis-IR spectroscopy. The transistors made by the nanotube networks whose density was much larger than the percolation threshold also showed no metallic paths. Estimation based on the conductance change of semiconducting nanotubes in the SWNT network due to applied gate voltage difference (conductance difference for on and off state) indicated a preferential growth of semiconducting nanotubes with an advantage of water-assisted PECVD. The nanotube transistors showed 10(-5) of on/off ratio and similar to 8 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) of field effect mobility.