Comparison of electron and phonon transport in disordered semiconductor carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Charge and thermal conductivities are the most important parameters of carbon nanomaterials as candidates for future electronics. In this paper we address the effects of Anderson type disorder in long semiconductor carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to electron charge conductivity and lattice thermal conductivity using the atomistic Green function approach. The electron and phonon transmissions are analyzed as a function of the length of the disordered nanostructures. The thermal conductance as a function of temperature is calculated for different lengths. Analysis of the transmission probabilities as a function of length of the disordered device shows that both electrons and phonons with different energies display different transport regimes, i.e. quasi-ballistic, diffusive and localization regimes coexist. In the light of the results we discuss heating of the semiconductor device in electronic applications.