Growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes grown by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition

To investigate the most suitable deposition conditions and growth mechanism, we grew carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition under various conditions. The experimental parameters we varied were (a) the mixture ratio of methane in hydrogen, (b) the total gas pressure, and (c) the bias electric current. We found that the bias electric current was the most influential parameter in determining the shape of CNTs. We believe that the growth process of CNTs can be explained by using the solid solubility curves of metal-carbon phase diagrams. Selective growth and low-temperture growth of CNTs can also be understood from these phase diagrams.