Gold contact to individual metallic carbon nanotubes: A sensitive nanosensor for high-pressure

Ch. Caillier (1) , A. Ayari (1) , V. Gouttenoire (1) , A. San Miguel (1) , Vincent Jourdain (2) , Matthieu Picher (2) , Jean-Louis Sauvajol (2)

1 LPMCN - Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée et Nanostructures
2 LCVN - Laboratoire des colloïdes, verres et nanomatériaux

A strong and universal piezoresistive effect is evidenced for individual metallic carbon nanotubes contacted to gold electrodes through high contact resistances. The effect is well explained through a pressure modulation of the tunnel barrier width at the contact. The pressure dependence (−16%/GPa) is much stronger than for standard resistive high pressure gauges, and it depends neither on the initial resistance nor on the pressure transmitting medium.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Ch. Caillier, A. Ayari, V. Gouttenoire, A. San Miguel, Vincent Jourdain, et al.. Gold contact to individual metallic carbon nanotubes: A sensitive nanosensor for high-pressure. Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 97, pp.173111. ⟨10.1063/1.3507389⟩. ⟨hal-00538721⟩