Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Electrical Conductivity Of The Aluminum Oxide Diffusion Barrier Following Catalytic Carbon Nanotube Growth, Berg Daniel Dodson

Theses and Dissertations

Carbon nanotube templated microfabrication (CNT-M) is a method that allows high-aspect ratio structures to be made for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. One concern when making monolithic electrical devices using CNT-M is that the aluminum oxide diffusion barrier will create too large of a resistance in the device. However, in developing CNT based MEMS devices, it has been observed that an electrical DC current is capable of transport from a conductive substrate, across the aluminum oxide, and through to the CNT structure grown on top of it. This thesis attempts to determine the mechanisms responsible for current being able to cross …