Horizontally-aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes on sapphire.

Recently, we discovered the horizontally-aligned growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on R- and A-plane sapphire substrates, which we call "atomic arrangement-programmed growth (AAP growth)". This is a unique method because the growth direction of SWCNTs is determined by the crystallographic direction of the sapphire surface. In this paper, we report on the characterization of the aligned SWCNTs by polarized Raman and electron transport measurements, and on the effect of the step/terrace structure formed on sapphire surface. These results may open up a possibility of creating the artificial SWCNT network, which can be applied to high-performance electronics.