High-Field Quasiballistic Transport in Short Carbon Nanotubes

Single walled carbon nanotubes with Pd Ohmic contacts and lengths ranging from several microns down to 10 nm are investigated by electron transport experiments and theory. The mean-free path (MFP) for acoustic phonon scattering is estimated to be l(ap) approximately 300 nm, and that for optical phonon scattering is l(op) approximately 15 nm. Transport through very short (approximately 10 nm) nanotubes is free of significant acoustic and optical phonon scattering and thus ballistic and quasiballistic at the low- and high-bias voltage limits, respectively. High currents of up to 70 microA can flow through a short nanotube. Possible mechanisms for the eventual electrical breakdown of short nanotubes at high fields are discussed. The results presented here have important implications to high performance nanotube transistors and interconnects.