Shot Noise Thermometry for Thermal Characterization of Templated Carbon Nanotubes

Robert A. Sayer, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
Sunkook Kim, Purdue University - Main Campus
Aaron D. Franklin, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
Saeed Mohammadi, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
Timothy Fisher, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University

Abstract

A carbon nanotube (CNT) thermometer that operates on the principles of electrical shot noise is reported. Shot noise thermometry is a self-calibrating measurement technique that relates statistical fluctuations in dc current across a device to temperature. A structure consisting of vertical, top, and bottom-contacted single-walled carbon nanotubes in a porous anodic alumina template was fabricated and used to measure shot noise. Frequencies between 60 and 100 kHz were observed to preclude significant influence from 1/f noise, which does not contain thermally relevant information. Because isothermal models do not accurately reproduce the observed noise trends, a self-heating shot noise model has been developed and applied to experimental data to determine the thermal resistance of a CNT device consisting of an array of vertical single-walled CNTs supported in a porous anodic alumina template. The thermal surface resistance at the nanotube-dielectric interface is found to be 1.5 x 10(8) K/W, which is consistent with measurements by other techniques.

Discipline(s)

Engineering | Nanoscience and Nanotechnology