Controllable preparation of patterns of aligned carbon nanotubes on metals and metal-coated silicon substrates

Patterns and alignment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are particularly important for fabricating functional devices such as field emitters, scanning probes, sensors, and nanoelectronics. In this paper, the effects of various metal substrates on CNT growth are studied. Depending on the different growth mechanisms associated with the various substrate surfaces, two- or three-dimensional micropatterns of aligned carbon nanotubes have been prepared via pyrolysis of iron(II) phthalocyanine. Patterns created on silicon substrates were obtained by photolithographic techniques. The prepared CNT patterns have resolutions down to the micrometer scale. Possible growth mechanisms of aligned carbon nanotubes on different metal surfaces are also discussed.