Structural deformation and intertube conductance of crossed carbon nanotube junctions

We present a first-principles study of the structure and quantum electronic conductance of junctions consisting of two crossed (5, 5) single-walled ca rbon nanotubes. The structures are determined by constrained minimization o f total energy at a given force between the two tubes, simulating the effec ts of substrate-tube attraction or an applied force. We find that the inter tube contact distance is very sensitive to the applied force in the range o f 0-10 nN. The intertube conductance is sizable for realistic deformation e xpected from substrate interaction. The results explain the recent transpor t data on crossed nanotubes and show that these systems may be potentially useful as electromechanical devices. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.688.