Carbon nanotube transistor optimization by chemical control of the nanotube–metal interface

Most carbon nanotube transistors work as Schottky barrier transistors. We show that chemical treatment of operational p-type nanotube transistors by trifluoro-acetic acid (TFA) leads to the drastic improvement of all the key device parameters. This effect is due to the highly polar nature of the TFA molecule which, once adsorbed at the metal–nanotube interface, lowers the Schottky barrier for the holes and thus favors their injection.