Single walled carbon nanotubes as active elements in nano bridge based NEMS

We present the fabrication and characterization of a nanometer-scale electromechanical transducer based on individual single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Each nano electromechanical device incorporates one electrically connected suspended SWNT, which is placed underneath a freestanding metal bridge. By introducing a mechanical load to the freestanding bridge (e.g. by pushing with an AFM tip) the suspended SWNT is mechanically deformed (i.e. local deformation at the edges and axial strain in the branches) leading to a significant change in resistance of the SWNT. We present electrical, mechanical and electromechanical measurements and show that the resistance (R_o≈500 kΩ) increases (up to R≈1.5 MΩ) by mechanical deformation.