Multiwalled carbon nanotube deposition profiles within a CVD reactor: An experimental study

A number of proposed applications of carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays require that uniform deposition of well-aligned CNTs is achieved. The CNT deposition profiles inside a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor are strongly dependant on the reaction temperatures, feed gas flow rates, carrier gas flow rates and reactor geometry. In addition, objects placed in the path of the flow of feed material could affect the deposition patterns. In this paper, an experimental study aimed at achieving better control of the deposition patterns of CNTs is presented. Multiwalled CNTs were grown on a long substrate by the catalytic CVD of a xylene/ferrocene solution. The deposition patterns on the substrate were examined for different furnace temperatures, xylene/ferrocene feed rates and carrier gas flow rates. Small objects representative of electronic devices were placed at different locations on the substrate and their effect on the deposition patterns was explored. The effect of changing the height and the gap distance between these objects was also studied.