Nanospot welding of carbon nanotubes

Single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) bundles protruding from the SWNT layers on self-aligned Sn apexes were brought to a distance of 30 nm by a scanning tunneling microscope inside a transmission electron microscope. A straight bundle on the tip could be observed in situ in contact electrostatically w ith a looped bundle on the sample by applying tip bias voltages above 2.0 V . The bundles were welded at the nanometer size contact area by local Joule heating. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.