Thermal Fluctuations and Resonance Properties of Scanning Probes Based on Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The design of cantilevers and microelectromechanical systems based on carbon nanotubes necessitates a thorough study of their thermal fluctuations and resonance properties. This work aims at the simulation of thermal fluctuations and power spectral density for single-walled carbon nanotubes in the context of the continuous model of elastic cylindrical membranes with nonmacroscopic thicknesses. The conditions imposed on the geometry of this probe and providing its stable operation, as well as the high lateral resolution determined by only the radius of the nanotube independently on its thermal vibrations, are found, as well. The most intensive resonance modes, making the greatest contribution to the thermal fluctuations of carbon nanotubes, are established, and their frequencies are found analytically.