Electrical percolation thresholds of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube networks in field-effect transistors

Abstract

With the advances in the separation and purification of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the use of highly pure metallic or semiconducting CNTs has practical merit in electronics applications. When highly pure CNTs are applied in various fields, CNT networks are preferred to individual CNTs. In such cases, the presence of an electrical path becomes crucial in the network. In this study, we report on the electrical percolation thresholds of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (s-SWCNT) networks, and their electrical characteristics in field-effect transistors (FET). Using the Monte Carlo method, s-SWCNT networks were randomly generated in the channels defined by the source–drain electrodes of the FET. On the basis of percolation theory, the percolation thresholds of s-SWCNT networks were obtained at different channel lengths (2, 6, and 10 μm) by generating random s-SWCNT networks 100 times. The network density corresponding to the electrical percolation threshold was theoretically gained at each channel length. As a result, the network densities at the percolation thresholds for the channel lengths of 2, 6, and 10 μm were 6.8, 9.0, and 9.9 tube μm⁻², respectively. In addition, SPICE calculations were performed for each s-SWCNT network, constituting an electrical path between the source and the drain electrodes of the FET. In all channel lengths, the on/off ratio of the s-SWCNT networks was enhanced with increasing network density. Finally, we found a power law relationship between the on/off ratio of the s-SWCNT networks and the network density at the percolation threshold.