Coupling between electronic and vibrational excitations in carbon nanotubes filled with C60 fullerenes

Pawel Utko (1) , Raffaelo Ferone (2) , Ilya V. Krive (2) , Robert I. Shekhter (2) , Mats Jonson (2) , Marc Monthioux (3) , Laure Noé (3) , Jesper Nygård (1)

1 UCPH - University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet
2 GU - Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg
3 CEMES - Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales

We investigate the low-temperature electron transport through C 60 peapods, which are carbon nanotubes encapsulating C60 fullerenes. We find that the temperature dependence of the Coulomb blockade oscillations in peapod quantum dots deviates from conventional Breit-Wigner behavior, showing signatures of the Franck-Condon blockade of conductance. This indicates the presence of a coupling between electronic states and vibrational excitations. Unlike for suspended empty nanotubes, these are not intrinsic vibrational modes of the tube but mechanical vibrations of the encapsulated fullerenes that affect the electronic transport. Fullerene peapods thus emerge as a new class of nanoelectromechanical systems.

Mots clés: Carbon; Carbon nanotubes; Coulomb blockade; Electron transport properties; Excited states; Fullerenes; Nanotubes; Semiconductor quantum dots; Temperature; Temperature distribution; Yarn; Coulomb blockade oscillation; Electron transport; Electronic transport; Fullerene peapods; Low temperatures; Temperature dependence; Vibrational excitation; Vibrational modes; Vibrations (mechanical)

Domaines: Physique [physics]

Pawel Utko, Raffaelo Ferone, Ilya V. Krive, Robert I. Shekhter, Mats Jonson, et al.. Coupling between electronic and vibrational excitations in carbon nanotubes filled with C60 fullerenes. Acta Physica Polonica A, 2011, 120 (5), pp.839-841. ⟨10.12693/APhysPolA.120.839⟩. ⟨hal-01760582⟩