Charging and emission effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes probed by electric force microscopy

Electrostatic properties of single-separated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) deposited on a dielectric layer have been investigated by charge injection and electric force microscopy (EFM) experiments. We found that upon local injection from the biased EFM tip, charges delocalize over the whole nanotube length (i.e., 1-10 μ m), consistent with a capacitive charging of the MWCNT-substrate capacitance. In addition, the insulating layer supporting the nanotubes is shown to act as a charge-sensitive plate for electrons emitted from the MWCNTs at low electric fields, thus allowing the spatial mapping of MWCNT field-emission patterns. © 2005 American Institute of Physics