Learning how to purify and manipulate single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) presents a unique challenge in material science. The processing-related difficulties of these long nano-fibers stem from their high aspect ratio, rigidity and the profound hydrophobic attractions along their tubular walls. Shortening them into discrete segments, with lengths from tens to hundreds of nanometers, presents a viable methodology to alleviate the shape-induced intractability. In addition, the metal-assisted self-organization of these nanosized objects into nano-forest geometries with dense perpendicular surface grafting, demonstrates that such nanosized objects hold significant promise for the development of nanoscale devices. This paper will present an extensive characterization of the topological characteristics of these assemblies, along with their surface coverage, growth characteristics and height fluctuation on iron hydroxide substrates.

We describe the fabrication of self-aligned split gate electrodes on suspended multiwalled carbon nanotube structures. A suspended multiwalled carbon nanotube structure was used as an evaporation mask for the deposition of metal electrodes resulting in the formation of discontinuous wire deposition. The metal deposits on the nanotubes are removed with lift-off due to the poor adhesion of metal to the nanotube surface. Using Al sacrificial layers, it was possible to fabricate self-aligned contact electrodes and control electrodes nanometers from the suspended carbon nanotubes with a single lithography step. It was also shown that the fabrication technique may also be used to form nano-gaped contact electrodes. The technique should prove useful for the fabrication of nano-electromechanical systems.

There are a vast number of organic compounds that could be considered for use in molecular electronics. Because of this, the need for efficient and economical screening tools has emerged. We have demonstrated that the substituent parameter values (σ), commonly found in advanced organic chemistry textbooks, correlate very strongly with features of the charge migration process. This result supports the use of the σ values as a low cost time saving tool in the selection of compounds for use in molecular electronic devices.