Electronic properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in an embedded vertical array

We demonstrate integration of carbon nanotubes into large scale vertically aligned electrode arrays, by filling the as-grown samples with conformal SiO2 using chemical vapor deposition. Subsequent mechanical polishing yields a flat surface with only the very ends of the nanotube array exposed. The electronic properties of individual carbon nanotubes in the array are measured using current-sensing atomic force microscopy. These vertical nanotube arrays are suitable for fabricating various electronic devices and sensors. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.