Controlling doping and carrier injection in carbon nanotube transistors

Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) fabricated out of as-grown nanotubes are unipolar p-type devices. Two methods for their conversion from p- to n-type devices are presented. The first method involves conventional doping with an electron donor, while the second consists of annealing the contacts in vacuum to remove adsorbed oxygen. A comparison of these methods shows fundamental differences in the mechanism of the transformation. The key finding is that the main effect of oxygen adsorption is not to dope the bulk of the tube, but to modify the barriers at the metal–semiconductor contacts. The oxygen concentration and the level of doping of the nanotube are therefore complementary in controlling the CNTFET characteristics. Finally, a method of controlling individually the contact barriers by local heating is demonstrated.