Controlled growth of Fe catalyst film for synthesis of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes by glancing angle deposition

Ultra-thin (5 nm) Fe catalyst films were deposited by a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion deposition system. The surface morphologies of the films were controlled by varying the angular relation of the substrate surface with respect to the incoming vapor direction. The Fe films grown with the incident flux at an angle of 30° with respect to the surface were shown to be smooth and after thermal treatment in NH3 the particles with a narrow size distribution and high N/Fe atom ratio were followed. When they were used to synthesize carbon nanotube arrays, pure and well-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes were obtained.