We present theoretical and experimental studies of Schottky diodes that use aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes. A simple physical model, taking into account the basic physics of current rectification, can adequately describe the single-tube and array devices. We show that for as-grown array diodes, the rectification ratio, defined by the maximum-to-minimum-current-ratio, is low due to the presence of metallic-single-walled nanotube (SWNT) shunts. These tubes can be eliminated in a single voltage sweep resulting in a high rectification array device. Further analysis also shows that the channel resistance, and not the intrinsic nanotube diode properties, limits the rectification in devices with channel length up to 10 μm.

A new technique to reduce the influence of metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs)—relevant for large-scale integrated circuits based on CNT-nanonet transistors—is proposed and verified. Historically, electrical and chemical filtering of the metallic CNTs have been used to improve the ON/OFF ratio of CNT-nanonet transistors; however, the corresponding degradation in ON-current has made these techniques somewhat unsatisfactory. Here, we abandon the classical approaches in favor of a new approach based on relocation of asymmetric percolation threshold of CNT-nanonet transistors by a technique called "striping"; this allows fabrication of transistors with ON/OFF ratio > 1000 and ON-current degradation no more than a factor of 2. We offer first principle numerical models, experimental confirmation, and renormalization arguments to provide a broad theoretical and experimental foundation of the proposed method.

Singled-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), in the form of ultrathin films of random networks, aligned arrays, or anything in between, provide an unusual type of electronic material that can be integrated into circuits in a conventional, scalable fashion. The electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of such films can, in certain cases, approach the remarkable characteristics of the individual SWNTs, thereby making them attractive for applications in electronics, sensors, and other systems. This review discusses the synthesis and assembly of SWNTs into thin film architectures of various types and provides examples of their use in digital electronic circuits with levels of integration approaching 100 transistors and in analog radio frequency (RF) systems with operating frequencies up to several gigahertz, including transistor radios in which SWNT transistors provide all of the active functionality. The results represent important steps in the development of an SWNT-based electronics technology that could find utility in areas such as flexible electronics, RF analog devices and others that might complement the capabilities of established systems.