title: Efficient coupling of optical energy for rapid catalyzed nanomaterial growth: high-quality carbon nanotube synthesis at low substrate temperatures.
abstract: The synthesis of high-quality nanomaterials depends on the efficiency of the catalyst and the growth temperature. To produce high-quality material, high-growth temperatures (often up to 1000 °C) are regularly required and this can limit possible applications, especially where temperature sensitive substrates or tight thermal budgets are present. In this study, we show that high-quality catalyzed nanomaterial growth at low substrate temperatures is possible by efficient coupling of energy directly into the catalyst particles by an optical method. We demonstrate that using this photothermal-based chemical vapor deposition method that rapid growth (under 4 min, which includes catalyst pretreatment time) of high-density carbon nanotubes can be grown at substrate temperatures as low as 415 °C with proper catalyst heat treatment. The growth process results in nanotubes that are high quality, as judged by a range of structural, Raman, and electrical characterization techniques, and are compatible with the requirements for interconnect technology.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Jose V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Anguita
authors.forename: Vlad
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stolojan
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.forename: S Ravi P
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Silva