Growth of Aligned Carbon Nanotubes through Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

Aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized on glass by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MWPCVD) with a mixture of methane and hydrogen gases at the low temperature of 550 °C. The experimental results show that both the self-bias potential and the density of the catalyst particles are responsible for the alignment of CNTs. When the catalyst particle density is high enough, strong interactions among the CNTs can inhibit CNTs from growing randomly and result in parallel alignment.