Channeling of heavy ions through multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Making use of molecular dynamics with analytical potentials we theoretically study channeling of heavy ions with keV energies through multi-walled carbon nanotubes. We show that under certain conditions on the tube alignment with respect to the ion beam and on ion energies, the ions can move through the empty cores of the MWNT with a very low probability of dechanneling. We further discuss how, by employing the experimental techniques routinely used nowadays for handling nanotubes on substrates, one can create a nanotube-based conduit for energetic ions, which should work as an aperture and allow one to manipulate the beam at the nanoscale. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.