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Reliability tests and improvements for Sc-contacted n-type carbon nanotube transistors

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Abstract

Scandium (Sc) contacted n-type carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effected transistors (FETs) with back and top-gate structure have been fabricated, and their stability in air were investigated. It was shown that oxygen and water molecules may affect both the nanotube channel and Sc/nanotube contacts, leading to deteriorated contact quality and device performance. These negative effects associated with the instability of n-type carbon nanotube FETs can be eliminated through passivating the CNT devices by a thin layer of atomic-layer-deposition grown Al2O3 insulator. After passivation, the n-type carbon nanotube FETs are shown to exhibit excellent atmosphere stability even after being tested and exposed to air for over 146 days, and then much smoother output characteristics and reduced gate voltage hysteresis from 1 to 0.1 V were demonstrated when compared with devices without passivation. Lasting power-on tests were also performed on the passivated CNT FETs under large gate stress and high drain current in air for at least 10 h, revealing null device degradation and sometimes even improved performance. These results promise that passivated CNT devices are reliable in air and may be used in practical applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices and Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Shibo Liang, Zhiyong Zhang, Tian Pei & Lianmao Peng

  2. Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices and College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Ruoming Li & Yan Li

Authors
  1. Shibo Liang
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  2. Zhiyong Zhang
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  3. Tian Pei
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  4. Ruoming Li
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  5. Yan Li
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  6. Lianmao Peng
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Correspondence to Zhiyong Zhang or Lianmao Peng.

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Liang, S., Zhang, Z., Pei, T. et al. Reliability tests and improvements for Sc-contacted n-type carbon nanotube transistors. Nano Res. 6, 535–545 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0330-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0330-x

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