Electrically gated nanostructure devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12439763-B2
Application number	US-202117170685-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2021
Priority date	Feb 10, 2020
Publication date	Oct 7, 2025
Grant date	Oct 7, 2025

Abstract

Provided is a gated nanostructure device, which includes a thick film comprising a conducting nanoporous material between a source electrode and a drain electrode; and a gate electrode that modulates an electric current through the conducting nanoporous material between the source electrode and the drain electrode throughout a thickness of the thick film. The conducting nanoporous material includes an exposed portion, which is exposed to an external environment, and pores of the conducting nanoporous material are aligned at least partially between the source electrode and the drain electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A gated nanostructure device comprising:
a first substrate having a dielectric layer;
a source electrode and a drain electrode, wherein at least one of the source electrode and the drain electrode is on the dielectric layer of the first substrate;
a thick film comprising conducting carbon nanotubes between the source electrode and the drain electrode, wherein each carbon nanotube has an inner channel; and
a gate electrode above the dielectric layer of the first substrate, wherein the gate electrode modulates an electric current through the conducting carbon nanotubes between the source electrode and the drain electrode throughout a thickness of the thick film;
wherein the conducting carbon nanotubes comprise an exposed portion, which is exposed to an outside environment, and the inner channels of the conducting carbon nanotubes are at least partially aligned along a direction that is substantially parallel to a direction between the source electrode and the drain electrode.

2. The gated nanostructure device of claim 1 , wherein the thick film has a thickness of at least about 100 nm.

3. The gated nanostructure device of claim 1 , wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode are on the dielectric layer of the first substrate.

4. The gated nanostructure device of claim 3 , wherein the thick film is on the dielectric layer of the first substrate and the inner channels of the carbon nanotubes are aligned substantially parallel to the dielectric layer of the first substrate.

5. The gated nanostructure device of claim 4 , wherein the gate electrode is a strip covering a portion of the conducting carbon nanotubes.

6. The gated nanostructure device of claim 4 , further comprising an additional electrode between the source electrode and the drain electrode and wherein the conducting carbon nanotubes comprise:
(i) a first section between the source electrode and the additional electrode; and
(ii) a second section between the additional electrode and the drain electrode;
wherein the gate electrode is on one of the first section and the second section and the other of the first section and the second section includes the exposed portion.

7. The gated nanostructure device of claim 1 , wherein the gate electrode is inside of the inner channel of one or more of the conducting carbon nanotubes.

8. The gated nanostructure device of claim 4 , wherein the gate electrode comprises a plurality of electric field enhancing elements on the dielectric layer and a plurality of recessed elements on the dielectric layer, wherein two adjacent electric field concentrating elements of said plurality of electric field enhancing elements are separated by a recessed element of said plurality of recessed elements and wherein the electric field enhancing elements of said plurality of electric field enhancing elements and the recessed elements of said plurality of recessed elements extend between the source electrode and the drain electrode.

9. The gated nanostructure device of claim 8 , wherein a dimension of an individual electric field enhancing element of said plurality of electric field enhancing elements in a direction, which is parallel to the dielectric surface and perpendicular to a direction between the source electrode and the drain electrode, is from about 0.01 μm to about 10 μm and a dimension of an individual electric field enhancing element of said plurality of electric field enhancing elements, which is perpendicular to the dielectric layer, is from about 0.01 μm to about 100 μm.

10. The gated nanostructure device of claim 8 , wherein an individual electric field enhancing element of said plurality of electric field concentrating elements is an array comprising a plurality of elevated sub-elements and a plurality of recessed sub-elements, such that two adjacent elevated sub-elements of the plurality of elevated sub-elements are separated by a recessed sub-element of said plurality of recessed sub-elements in the direction between the source electrode and the drain electrode.

11. The gated nanostructure device of claim 3 , wherein the gate electrode extends over the dielectric layer of the first substrate and the thick film is a curved film over the gate electrode between the source electrode and the drain electrode.

12. The gated nanostructure device of claim 1 , further comprising a second substrate comprising a first surface having a dielectric portion, wherein the drain electrode is on the dielectric portion of the first surface of the second substrate, the source electrode is on the dielectric layer of the first substrate, the inner channels of the conducting carbon nanotubes are aligned substantially perpendicular to the dielectric layer of the first substrate, and the gate electrode extends from the first surface of the second substrate through at least a portion of the thickness of the thick film.

13. The gated nanostructure device of claim 12 , wherein the gate electrode extends through the thickness of the thick film from the second substrate to the first substrate.

14. The gated nanostructure device of claim 12 , wherein the thick film has a circular shape with a diameter from about 0.01 μm to about 1,000 μm in a cross section parallel to the dielectric layer of the first substrate.

15. The gated nanostructure device of claim 12 , wherein the first surface of the second substrate faces the dielectric layer of the first substrate.

16. The gated nanostructure device of claim 12 , wherein the dielectric layer of the first substrate faces a second surface of the second substrate, which is opposite to the first surface of the second substrate.

17. The gated nanostructure device of claim 12 , wherein the gate electrode comprises a plurality of gate elements, each extending from the first surface of the second substrate through at least a portion of the thickness of the thick film.

18. A sensing device comprising the gated nanostructure device of claim 1 , wherein the sensing device is configured to detect a chemical species in the outside environment upon exposure of the exposed portion of the conducting carbon nanotubes to the chemical species.

19. A method of detecting a chemical species in an outside environment, comprising:
exposing the conducting carbon nanotubes of the gated nanostructure device of claim 1 to the chemical species to generate an electrical response in the conducting carbon nanotubes; and
modulating the electric current through the conducting carbon nanotubes between the source electrode and the drain electrode by applying a gating voltage to the gate electrode to amplify the electrical response.

20. A gated nanostructure device comprising:
a first substrate comprising a dielectric layer;
a source electrode and a drain electrode, wherein at least one of the source electrode and the drain electrode is on the dielectric layer;
a film comprising conducting carbon nanotubes between the source electrode and the drain electrode, wherein each carbon nanotube has an inner channel; and
a gate electrode inside the inner channel of one or more of the conducting carbon nanotubes.

21. The gated nanostructure device of claim 20 , wherein a portion of the conducting carbon nanotubes is exposed to an outside environment.

22. The gated nanostructure device of claim 20 , wherein the inner channels of the conducting carbon nanotubes are at least partially aligned along a direction that is substantially parallel to a direction between the source electrode

Assignees

• L Livermore Nat Security Llc

Inventors

• Meshot Eric
• Buchsbaum Steven

Classifications

• H10K85/221

  Carbon nanotubes · CPC title

• H10K10/481

  characterised by the gate conductors · CPC title

• G01N27/4146 Primary

  involving nanosized elements, e.g. nanotubes, nanowires · CPC title

• H10K10/484 Primary

  characterised by the channel regions · CPC title

• H10K10/462

  Insulated gate field-effect transistors [IGFETs] · CPC title