Apparatus for and method of forming carbon nanotube
OwnerKimitsugu Saitoinventor
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Abstract
A vacuum chamber includes a radical beam irradiation part and a nanoparticle beam irradiation part. A substrate is held by a substrate holding part. The nanoparticle beam irradiation part irradiates the substrate with a beam of metal nanoparticles serving as a catalyst to form the catalyst on the substrate. Thereafter, the radical beam irradiation part generates a plasma from a source gas to irradiate the substrate with a beam of generated neutral radical species to grow a carbon nanotube on the substrate. The provision of an aperture in the radical beam irradiation part allows a relatively high degree of vacuum of 10−5 Torr to 10−3 Torr to be maintained in the vacuum chamber if the generation of the plasma involves a high pressure.
Claims14
A carbon nanotube forming apparatus for growing a carbon nanotube on a substrate, comprising:
- a vacuum chamber for receiving a substrate therein;
- an evacuation element for maintaining a predetermined degree of vacuum in said vacuum chamber;
- a holding element for holding the substrate in said vacuum chamber;
- and
- a radical beam irradiation element for generating a plasma from a source gas containing carbon to emit neutral radical species present in the plasma, thereby irradiating the substrate held by said holding element with the neutral radical species.
A method of growing a carbon nanotube on a substrate received in a vacuum chamber to form the carbon nanotube, comprising the steps of:
- a) maintaining a predetermined degree of vacuum in said vacuum chamber;
- b) introducing a source gas containing carbon into a radical beam irradiation element to generate a plasma in said radical beam irradiation element;
- and
- c) emitting neutral radical species present in the generated plasma from said radical beam irradiation element to irradiate a substrate held in said vacuum chamber with the neutral radical species.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.