Fabrication of Dense Horizontally Aligned Arrays of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes from Vertically Aligned Arrays

The as-grown vertically aligned single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) arrays are transferred from the original silicon substrate to a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate, which acts as a stamp. Thin SWNT films can be applied from the stamp to the target substrate and subsequently treated by an ultrasonic process to reduce their thickness to 6.6 nm. The transferred SWNT thin film retains the advantageous super-alignment and high-density properties of the vertical SWNT arrays. The linear density, transmittance, and square resistance of the thin film are as high as 15 tubes per micrometer, 99% at 550 nm, and 16 k Omega, respectively. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics