Direct catalytic growth of high-density carbon nanotubes on nanoclusters at low temperatures

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have received extensive attention due to their one-dimensional structure and ability to demonstrate many novel physical and chemical phenomena in the quantum scale. However, the application of CNTs in electronics is hindered due to their higher growth temperatures which are usually in excess of 500 °C, which is not compatible with current semiconductor technology in industry. Low temperature growth is necessary for integrating CNTs into standard semiconductor devices such as CMOS and large-scale integrated circuits.