Electron-phonon coupling effect on quantum transport in carbon nanotubes using time-dependent wave-packet approach

We investigate the electron - phonon coupling effects on the electronic transport properties of the metallic (5, 5)-carbon nanotube using the time-dependent wave-packet approach based on the Kubo - Greenwood formula within a tight-binding approximation. We consider the zone-center longitudinal optical phonon among various phonon modes, and calculate the conductance for the 10 Am carbon nanotubes at room temperature. We show that the electron - phonon coupling largely decreases the conductance around the Fermi energy, which is explained by the time-dependent behaviors of propagating length and the electronic band structure. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.