Differential current amplification in three-terminal Y-junction carbon nanotube devices

Abstract

We present three-terminal transistor-like operation of Y-junction carbon nanotubes with three independent contacts. Using one of the terminals as a controlling gate, differential current gain of up to 300 is observed at low temperature ( 4.2 K ) in the biasing region where the gate current is small. We present evidence that the observed transistorcharacteristics can be ascribed to a new amplification mechanism: gated hopping via conducting grains.