Strain-induced electronic property heterogeneity of a carbon nanotube - art. no. 035419

We have studied the effect of strain on the electronic properties of multiw all carbon nanotubes using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. While small elastic strain causes no change of the electronic properties of the nanotubes, tubes under large strain by lying over an inter-grain bound ary of the Au substrate show drastic electronic heterogeneity. The observed variation in local electronic property is explained in terms of the mechan ical relaxation of the outer most layer of the tube. This provides first ev idence of the effect of mechanical modification on local electronic structu re of a carbon nanotube.