Tailoring the surface morphology of carbon nanotube forests by plasma etching: A parametric study

Abstract

The top surface of carbon nanotube (CNT) “forests” produced by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) often has a tangled morphology, owing to the self-organization of the CNTs at the initial stage of the CVD process. Removal of this top “crust” layer, without damaging the intrinsic microstructure of the CNT forest is often a key step for further applications. This paper studies the tailored use of Ar/O2 plasma etching to modify the surface morphology of multi-walled CNT forests. First, we investigate the effects of process parameters including plasma power, flow rate, and gas composition on the etching of CNT forests. As a result, we identify the plasma conditions that successfully remove the top crust yet maintain the structural shape of a CNT forest. Second, we prepare CNT forests having different packing densities and heights to study the influence of the initial characteristics on the etching result. We experimentally confirm that the etching rate depends strongly on the density and morphology of the crust layer. We also compare the material removal rate in vertical and lateral directions. Finally, we explore the enhancement of alignment and chemical uniformity of the top surface of CNT forests by the Ar/O2 plasma