Transport phenomena and conduction mechanism of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at Y- and crossed-junctions

This letter illustrates the transport phenomena associated with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) junctions of Y- and cross-configurations. Localized gating effect exhibited by Y- and crossed-junctions suggests the resemblance of their electrical characteristics with ambipolar and unipolar p-type FETs, respectively. Temperature dependence of the I-V characteristics reveals that the conduction mechanism in the said SWNT junctions is governed by thermionic emission at temperatures above 100 K and by tunneling at T < 100 K. In-depth analysis of current transport through the crossed- and Y- junction SWNTs is significant in view of their predominant influence on the electrical performance of carbon nanotube networks (CNT-mat).