Available Technology
Directional growth of carbon nanotube growth
Technology:
Carbon nanotubes
Markets Addressed
Since their discovery over a decade ago, carbon nanotubes have been the subject of intense study because of their unique electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. They have been proposed as the basis of new sensors, nanoscale electrical circuits, molecular delivery systems, photonic sources, thermal conductors, mechanical fibers, chemical catalysts, and as critical components for a wide variety of other applications.
Innovations and Advantages
Jene Golovchenko's research group has developed a method of growing single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes on patterned substrates, a technique that is compatible with modern semiconductor fabrication strategies, allowing for commercially viable fabrication of nanotube sensors with extraordinary sensitivity and accuracy. After patterning vapor-deposited solid iron particles as catalyst sites, ordered arrays of suspended carbon nanotube are grown using methane chemical vapor deposition, spanning gaps of hundreds of nanometers. These suspended nanotubes offer high surface areas for chemical or gas detection. The growth is directed using locally applied electrical fields. Compatibility with silicon (Si), oxide (SiO2), nitride (Si3N4), and alumina (Al2O3) substrates has been demonstrated. This technique lends itself to both standalone nanotube sensors or dense webs or arrays of nanotubes in more complex device architectures.
Additional Information
Intellectual Property Status: Patents pending in Europe, Japan, and the United States
USPTO Publication: US-2005-0007002-A1
PCT Publication: Pub No. WO 2005/000739 A1
Publication:
“Patterned growth of single-walled carbon nanotube arrays from a vapor-deposited Fe catalyst”, H.B. Peng, T.G. Ristroph, G.M. Schurmann, G.M. King, J. Yoon, V. Narayanamurti, J. A. Golovchenko, Applied Physics Letters, 83, 4238 (2003).
A suite of four technologies (Harvard cases 2784, 2616, 2281, and 2093) has been developed by Roy Gordon, Charles Lieber, and Jene Golovchenko at Harvard University involving carbon nanotubes. The researchers have developed a number of novel techniques for the synthesis, controlled growth and placement on substrates of high-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes particularly suited for sensor applications.
This IP enables carbon nanotubes to be used for extremely sensitive gas and chemical detection, taking advantage of their extremely high electron mobility, small dimensions, and reduced power consumption.
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Inventor(s):
Branton, Daniel
Golovchenko, Jene
Peng, Haibing
Categories:
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering
- Materials
- Nanotechnology
- Physics
- Semiconductors
- Sensors and Imaging Devices
- Specialty Chemicals/Chemistry
For further information, please contact:
Alan Gordon, Director of Business Development
(617) 384-5000
Reference Harvard Case #2093