Negative Differential Conductance and Hot Phonons in Suspended Nanotube Molecular Wires
Abstract
Freely suspended metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) exhibit reduced current carrying ability compared to those lying on substrates, and striking negative differential conductance at low electric fields. Theoretical analysis reveals significant self-heating effects including electron scattering by hot nonequilibrium optical phonons. Electron transport characteristics under strong self-heating are exploited for the first time to probe the thermal conductivity of individual SWNTs (∼3600Wm-1K-1 at T=300K) up to ∼700K, and reveal a 1/T dependence expected for umklapp phonon scattering at high temperatures.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- October 2005
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:cond-mat/0506122
- Bibcode:
- 2005PhRvL..95o5505P
- Keywords:
-
- 63.22.+m;
- 61.46.+w;
- 65.80.+n;
- 68.65.-k;
- Phonons or vibrational states in low-dimensional structures and nanoscale materials;
- Thermal properties of small particles nanocrystals and nanotubes;
- Low-dimensional mesoscopic and nanoscale systems: structure and nonelectronic properties;
- Condensed Matter - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
- E-Print:
- PRL, in press