title: Probing nanoscale solids at thermal extremes.
abstract: We report a novel nanoscale thermal platform compatible with extreme temperature operation and real-time high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Applied to multiwall carbon nanotubes, we find atomic-scale stability to 3200 K, demonstrating that carbon nanotubes are more robust than graphite or diamond. Even at these thermal extremes, nanotubes maintain 10% of their peak thermal conductivity and support electrical current densities approximately 2 x 10{8} A/cm{2}. We also apply this platform to determine the diameter dependence of the melting temperature of gold nanocrystals down to three nanometers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Begtrup
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Yuzvinsky
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zettl