Stable “T junctions” of single-walled carbon nanotubes forming one of the smallest prototypes of microscopic metal-semiconductor-metal contacts are proposed. The structures have been found to be local minima of the total energy on relaxation with a generalized tight-binding molecular dynamics scheme. These quasi-2D junctions could be the building blocks of nanoscale tunnel junctions in a 2D network of nanoelectronic devices.

• Received 23 June 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.79.4453