@article{34523d3172874c3a80cabed33f281df7,
title = "Molecular Junctions by Joining Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes",
abstract = "Crossing single-walled carbon nanotubes can be joined by electron beam welding to form molecular junctions. Stable junctions of various geometries are created in situ in a transmission electron microscope. Electron beam exposure at high temperatures induces structural defects which promote the joining of tubes via cross-linking of dangling bonds. The observations are supported by molecular dynamics simulations which show that the creation of vacancies and interstitials induces the formation of junctions involving seven- or eight-membered carbon rings at the surface between the tubes.",
author = "M. Terrones and F. Banhart and N. Grobert and Charlier, {J. C.} and H. Terrones and Ajayan, {P. M.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank the Royal Society (N. G.), the JFCC-Japan (N. G.), CONACYT-Mexico Grants No. W-8001-millennium initiative, No. G-25851, No. 36365-E, No. 37589-U (H. T., M. T.), the FNRS of Belgium and the European Union: COMELCAN project Contract No. N HPRN- CT-2000-00128 (J. C. C.), and CNT-NET project Contract No. N G5RT-CT2001-05026 (M. T.), for financial support. We are indebted to M. R{\"u}hle, F. Phillipp, and R. H{\"o}schen for the hospitality, assistance, and facilitating the use of the electron microscope based in Stuttgart. P. M. A. acknowledges funding from focus center for Interconnects at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute funded by DARPA, MARCO, and NY state, and the NEDO international joint research grant on nano-integration system.",
year = "2002",
doi = "10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.075505",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "89",
journal = "Physical review letters",
issn = "0031-9007",
publisher = "American Physical Society",
number = "7",
}