Abstract
Semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes under high electric field stress () display a remarkable current increase due to avalanche generation of free electrons and holes. Unlike other materials, the avalanche process in such 1D quantum wires involves access to the third subband and is insensitive to temperature but strongly dependent on diameter . Comparison with a theoretical model yields a novel approach to obtain the inelastic optical phonon emission length . The new results underscore the importance of multiband transport in 1D molecular wires.
- Received 8 August 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.256804
©2008 American Physical Society