Low-dimensional metallic transport is at the heart of modern high-performance transistors. While the best devices are currently based on III-V heterojunction quantum-well channels, we demonstrate that much greater performance gains reside in the unique properties of one-dimensional carbon nanotubes. Using recent experimental data, we show how the specific features of degenerate carrier kinetics in metallic nanotubes enable a novel class of quantum-confined signal detector whose current gain exceeds present transistor technology. We analyze the key interplay of degeneracy and scattering dynamics on the transconductance via a microscopically conserving quantum-kinetic description.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0602034,
title = {Metallic Carbon Nanotubes as High-Current-Gain Transistors},
author = {F. Green and D. Neilson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0602034},
year = {2007}
}