| Proj No. | A2262-251 |
| Title | A Densification Technique for Enhanced Electrical Conductivity of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes in High-Frequency Applications |
| Summary | Millimeter-wave (mmW) technology with frequencies ranging from 30 to 300 GHz has gained significant attention and found applications in various modern domains such as radio astronomy, remote sensing, automotive radars, and 5G/6G telecommunications. To achieve high-speed and high-capacity data transmissions, it is inevitable to utilize the frequency band over 100 GHz or sub-THz, resulting in more design challenges of high-frequency integrated circuits (HF-ICs) and heterogeneous integrations. As a result, novel materials and emerging technologies are needed for building HF passive devices with low-cost and high performance comparable to or even outperforming incumbent radio-frequency complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (RF-CMOS) technology. Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs), well-known for their unique electrical and mechanical properties, have been extensively investigated and considered as potential building blocks for HF-ICs. Due to the negligible skin effect of CNTs at 300 GHz and above, the VACNT-based technology is promising to be scaled to a higher frequency in the sub-THz spectrum. Although the proof-of-concept of a CNT-based waveguide has been demonstrated, the electrical conductivity of VACNT arrays would need to be further improved to reduce electromagnetic wave propagation losses in the sub-mmW band due to the finite material conductivity. A theoretical model has predicted that the conductivity of a VACNT array is proportional to the density of CNTs in the array. However, due to the high aspect ratio structure, there are still no suitable and robust techniques for the densification of VACNT arrays while maintaining the structure integrity of the arrays, which hinders the advancement of the VACNTs-based HF technology. This proposed project aims to develop a robust densification technique for enhanced electrical conductivity of VACNT arrays. In this project, the student will get hands-on experience with design and coding work for a stretching jig used for the densification of VACNT arrays. The student will also be able to learn VACNT array fabrication, characterization, electrical conductivity measurement techniques, experimental planning, and organization skills |
| Supervisor | Prof Tay Beng Kang (Loc:S1 > S1 B1A > S1 B1A 29, Ext: +65 67904533) |
| Co-Supervisor | - |
| RI Co-Supervisor | - |
| Lab | Nanoelectronics Lab. I (Loc: S1-B3a-01) |
| Single/Group: | Single |
| Area: | Microelectronics and Biomedical Electronics |
| ISP/RI/SMP/SCP?: |