Precision Cutting of Nanotubes with a Low-Energy Electron Beam

ORAL

Abstract

We report on a method to locally remove material from carbon and boron nitride nanotubes using the low-energy focused electron beam of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Using this method, clean, precise cuts can be made into nanotubes, either part-way through (creating hinge-like geometries) or fully through (creating size-selected nanotube segments). The SEM cutting mechanism involves foreign molecular species and differs from electron beam induced knock-on damage in transmission electron microscopy.

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Authors

  • Thomas Yuzvinsky

  • Adam Fennimore

  • William Mickelson

    • MSD,LBNL, Berkeley, Caifornia 94720 and Dept. of Physics, UC Berkeley, California, 94720

  • Cristian Esquivias

  • Alex Zettl

    • Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, and Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory