Nanoelectromechanical switches with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

Electromechanical switching devices have been fabricated successfully employing vertically grown multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) from the prepatterned catalyst dots on the patterned device electrodes. The devices show various interesting switching characteristics depending on the length and the number of MWCNTs used. The device design not only simplifies the fabrication process, but also improves the integration density greatly. The device has a great potential in realizing technically viable nanoelectromechanical systems, such as switch, memory, fingers, or grippers. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.