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

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