Batch fabrication of carbon nanotubes on tips of a silicon pyramid array

Abstract

We have proposed batch fabrication of silicon pyramids with upward CNTs on the tips at one time by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. To synthesize upward CNTs on the pyramid tips, an upward electric field was applied to the silicon pyramid array during the CVD process. By electric field simulation and verifying experiment on silicon one-dimensional array structures, we found that CNTs tended to grow from sharp tips in our method. We fabricated the silicon pyramid array with sharp tips by anisotropic wet etching. After the CVD process, CNTs growing from the tips of the pyramids were observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). As a result, about 70% of 100 times 100 silicon pyramid array had CNTs on the tips. Our method would be valuable for fabricating probes of atomic force microscope (AFM) with CNTs on the tips (CNT-AFM probes).