Carbon nanotube based high current transistors

We have constructed planar field-effect-transistors capable of switching currents of up to several milliamperes based on randomly placed single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The SWCNTs were grown using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process from a nickel based catalyst at a temperature of 650°C. Transistor source and drain contacts were defined using electron-beam lithography. The use of several hundreds of SWCNTs in parallel facilitates the incorporation of randomly deposited tubes into practical transistors that can be used as normal switches or, when appropriately chemically functionalized, as gas or biomolecule detectors.