In this thesis, we explore the electronics applications of the nanoscale allotropes of carbon. We work with carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoribbons. The first part involves using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to build composite structures such as fibers. In the past, our group developed the “nanosoldering” technique to solder carbon nanotube junctions which significantly improved the electrical properties of CNT transistors. For the purpose of our work, we apply the nanosoldering technique to the CNT junctions in the fibers to enhance their properties. We study the electrical and thermal properties of the fibers before and after nanosoldering. We measure the electrical conductivity using a four-terminal sensing circuit, and an IR microscope is used to map the real-time temperature profile of the fibers to extract thermal conductivity.
In the second part, we also fabricate and characterize transistors from thin films of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). Device studies of solution synthesized GNRs have been limited because of poor processing. In this work, a novel interfacial self-assembly approach is used to produce uniform thin films of GNRs. Transistors are then fabricated using the GNR thin films as the channel material and the resulting devices are characterized.