Process for producing a nanoelement arrangement, and nanoelement arrangement

• US 20050040847A1
• Filed: 11/12/2003
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Polaris Innovations Limited (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Dusberg, Georg Stefan, Liebau, Maik, Graham, Andrew, Unger, Eugen
• Granted Patent: US 7,183,131 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 326/37
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/221 Carbon nanotubes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 438/903 Catalyst aided deposition
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/891 Vapor phase deposition

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for producing a nanoelement arrangement and to a nanoelement arrangement. In the process for producing a nanoelement arrangement, a first nanoelement is at least partially covered with catalyst material for catalyzing the growth of nanoelements. Furthermore, at least one second nanoelement is grown on the catalyst material.

Claims

1-21. -21. (Canceled).

22. A process for producing a nanoelement arrangement, comprising the steps of:

forming a first nanoelement;

covering, with catalyst material for catalyzing growth of nanoelements, the first nanoelement in at least one predetermined region; and

growing at least one second nanoelement on the catalyst material.

23. The process according to claim 22, wherein the catalyst material is applied to the first nanoelement in the form of at least one cluster.

24. The process according to claim 23, wherein the covering step comprises the steps of:

bringing the first nanoelement into operative contact with a suspension having clusters of catalyst material; and

removing the first nanoelement with at least one cluster attached thereto from the suspension.

25. The process according to claim 24, wherein the first nanoelement with the at least one cluster attached thereto is resuspended and is applied to a substrate.

26. The process according to claim 23, wherein the growing step includes growing the at least one second nanoelement on the at least one cluster.

27. The process according to claim 26, wherein the at least one second nanoelement is formed using a chemical vapor deposition process.

28. The process according to claim 22, wherein the catalyst material between the first and the at least one second nanoelement is nickel-plated.

29. The process according to claim 22, further comprising the step of covering a partial region of the first nanoelement with a protective layer which has no catalytic action for the growth of nanoelements.

30. The process according to claim 29, wherein the protective layer used is a resist, surfactant, organic material, oxidized material, or a metal which has no catalytic action for the growth of nanoelements.

31. The process according to claim 22, wherein the catalyst material comprises at least one of iron, cobalt, nickel, and an alloy of these metals with aluminium, titanium, molybdenum and/or platinum.

32. A nanoelement arrangement comprising:

a first nanoelement on which at least one predetermined region is covered with catalyst material for catalyzing the growth of nanoelements; and

at least one second nanoelement grown on the catalyst material.

33. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 32, wherein only a portion of the first nanoelement is covered with catalyst material for catalyzing the growth of nanoelements.

34. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 32, wherein the first nanoelement is grown in a pore introduced in a substrate.

35. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 34, wherein the first nanoelement is grown in the pore on a metallization plane in the substrate.

36. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 32, wherein the first and/or the at least one second nanoelement and/or at least one additional nanoelement are grown on top of one another and/or next to one another.

37. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 32, wherein the first and/or the at least one second nanoelement includes a nanotube, a bundle of nanotubes, or a nanorod.

38. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 37, wherein the nanorod comprises at least one of silicon, germanium, indium phosphide, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide, zirconium oxide, and a metal.

39. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 37, wherein the nanotube is a carbon nanotube, a carbon-boron nanotube, a carbon-nitrogen nanotube, a tungsten sulphide nanostructure, or a chalcogenide nanotube.

40. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 37, wherein the first and/or the at least one second nanoelement is a carbon nanotube, and wherein the catalyst material comprises at least one of iron, cobalt, nickel and, an alloy of these metals with aluminium, titanium, molybdenum, and platinum.

41. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 32, further comprising an integrated circuit coupled to the first and/or the at least one second nanoelement.

42. The nanoelement arrangement according to claim 32, wherein the nanoelements form a branched network.