An electrical switch based on Ag-tetracyanoquinodimethane sandwiched by crossed carbon nanotube electrodes

We report herein a method to fabricate an electrical switch device in which two crossed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) serve as electrode contacts and Ag-tetracyanoquinodimethane (AgTCNQ) is embedded into the crossed point functions as the electrical bistable medium. To fabricate this device, an electrodeposition method is used to grow AgTCNQ particles along a CNT, and then the top CNT is placed intersectionally over the former tube wrapped with AgTCNQ. The device shows typical switching performance with an on/off ratio up to 103. The excellent electrical properties and nanoscale diameter of CNTs of this device show promising applications in the integrations of CNT nanoelectronics.