This application note explains how single-walled carbon nanotubes support conductive paths and device channels in semiconductor electronics by combining quasi-1D electron transport with chirality-dependent band structure.
SWCNT enables semiconductor electronics by forming quasi-1D conduction paths where chirality sets metallic versus semiconducting behavior, allowing use as low-loss interconnect networks or gate-modulated channels when tube type and network continuity are controlled.
SWCNT is considered for semiconductor electronics because its sp² carbon π-electron system supports high-mobility transport along a one-dimensional axis, and its electronic behavior is tunable by chirality (metallic vs semiconducting).
In interconnect concepts, SWCNT networks can provide continuous current paths with reduced geometry-driven resistivity penalties compared with shrinking metal lines. In FET concepts, semiconducting-enriched SWCNT enables gate modulation because the band gap depends on tube diameter/chirality.
Intrinsic transport: charge moves along the nanotube via delocalized π electrons; scattering increases with defects and junctions between tubes. Chirality defines whether the tube is metallic (no band gap) or semiconducting (finite band gap), which governs whether the structure behaves as a wire or a switchable channel.
Device activation: in FET operation, gate voltage modulates carrier density in semiconducting SWCNT. In interconnect use, current carrying depends on continuity of the percolated network and contact resistance at tube–tube and tube–electrode interfaces.
Suggested for evaluation — application-specific testing required
Non-Applicability: As a FET channel material, SWCNT is not suitable when metallic pathways cannot be sufficiently suppressed, because gate control can collapse due to always-on conduction.
Unknown/Unverified: Long-term electrical drift under combined bias, humidity, and repeated thermal cycling remains application-dependent and may vary strongly with surface chemistry and residues.
Activation Boundary: Gate modulation requires a semiconducting-dominant conduction path; if metallic tubes percolate across the channel, the device behaves resistively with weak on/off control.
Mechanism statements are grounded in established solid-state transport concepts for 1D carbon nanostructures and the chirality-dependent band structure model. Application performance remains sensitive to processing, interfaces, and network topology.
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