Electrical responses by effects of molecular adsorption on channel and junctions of carbon nanotube field effect transistors

Abstract

We report the adsorption effect on the electrical transport of nanotube field effect transistors. The source - drain current is monitored separately for the nanotube channel and the metal - nanotube junction under different pressures of ambient air with a blocking passivation. The metal - nanotube junction shows a significant change from p-type to ambipolar upon vacuum pumping, while the nanotube channel changes modestly. The metal - nanotube junction is found to be far more sensitive to the environment than the nanotube channel. We suggest that the adsorption states underneath the blocking layer do not desorb, and thus the positive carriers would not be diluted upon the vacuum pumping. This result is interpreted as the formation of an i-p-i and p-i-p junction with charge transfer by oxygen molecules.