Ultrafast nano-oscillators based on interlayer-bridged carbon nanoscrolls

Z Zhang and T Li, NANOSCALE RESEARCH LETTERS, 6, 470 (2011).

DOI: 10.1186/1556-276X-6-470

We demonstrate a viable approach to fabricating ultrafast axial nano- oscillators based on carbon nanoscrolls (CNSs) using molecular dynamics simulations. Initiated by a single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT), a monolayer graphene can continuously scroll into a CNS with the CNT housed inside. The CNT inside the CNS can oscillate along axial direction at a natural frequency of tens of gigahertz. We demonstrate an effective strategy to reduce the dissipation of the CNS-based nano- oscillator by covalently bridging the carbon layers in the CNS. We further demonstrate that such a CNS-based nano-oscillator can be excited and driven by an external AC electric field, and oscillate at more than 100 GHz. The CNS-based nano-oscillators not only offer a feasible pathway toward ultrafast nano-devices but also hold promise to enable nanoscale energy transduction, harnessing, and storage (e.g., from electric to mechanical).

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