Carbon nanotubes grown vertically on silicon wafer.(EMERGING TECHNOLOGY)

Advanced Materials & Processes, October, 2006

A technique for growing individual carbon nanotubes vertically on top of a silicon wafer has reportedly been developed by engineers at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. The engineers first created a thin film containing two layers of aluminum by sandwiching one ultra-thin layer of iron by electron-beam evaporation.

The engineers then anodized the aluminum to selectively create tiny cylindrical cavities and turn the film into a porous anodic alumina template. During the process, an electric field formed a precisely aligned array of nanoscopic holes, turning aluminum into porous alumina. A mixture of hydrogen and methane gas was then flowed into the template's holes, and microwave energy was applied to break down the methane into its mainly carbon...

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