title: Investigation of interfacial adhesion between the top ends of carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Understanding the interfacial forces of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is fundamental to the development of electromechanical systems based on the contact of CNTs. However, experimental studies on the adhesion properties between CNTs are scarce despite the remarkable contact quality of CNTs. Here, we present an experimental investigation of the adhesion between the top ends of aligned, self-adjusted CNTs using a CNT-integrated microelectromechanical actuator. The pull-out and pull-in behaviors of the contact as a function of the applied force by the actuator are precisely identified by measuring the contact resistance between the CNTs. The adhesion between the top ends of individual CNTs is extracted from the measured adhesive strength between the CNT arrays, and it agrees with the theoretical values of the van der Waals interactions. By exploiting the adhesion of the CNT-to-CNT contact, a programmable and reliable microelectromechanical switching device is demonstrated. Our results offer design strategies for diverse CNT-based nano- and microelectromechanical devices that need repeatable contacting interfaces.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University , 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jungwook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Youngkee
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Eun
authors.forename: Jongbaeg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim