Carbon Nanotube and Graphene Device Physics H.-S. Philip Wong and Deji Akinwande

This book is based on a graduate level course at Stanford University, which characterizes the whole book. Each chapter begins with a very short elementary introduction to the topic, although the level of abstraction increases immediately. The interested reader requires some knowledge of modern solid-state physics; a reader without an appropriate background in science would be thankful for a more extended introduction. However, it is an important advantage of this book that the authors use mathematical notation commonly used among engineers. Furthermore, each chapter ends with a set of problems. This is important for readers to check their progress in understanding the topics. However, it would have been helpful if the answers were also provided.

The coverage of the topics is comprehensive. The book starts with an overview of carbon nanotubes and graphene with respect to their structure. Importantly, the concept of chirality for nanotubes is explained in detail. This is often neglected because it does not generally exist in crystallography. After an excellent introduction to electrons in a solid, the electronic states of graphene and carbon nanotubes are described. On the basis of this knowledge, electrical conductivity of these materials is discussed and the fundamental differences between ohmic and quantum conductance are clearly presented. Problems related to carbon nanotube interconnects are explained in order to design devices based on carbon nanotubes and graphene. This chapter gives hints to the reader on how to design electronic devices based on these materials and the problems observed in connecting to the macroscopic world, where the wires are made, in most cases, of copper.

At the end, the important development of a carbon nanotube-based field-effect transistor and its properties are explained. In the last section devoted to applications, nearly all possibilities for technical use in current discussion are explained. Also, the use of carbon nanotubes as a mass sensor with atomic resolution is covered. Fascinating!

In summary, this is an excellent and very complete book on carbon-based nanomaterials and their applications. This book is strongly recommended to everyone interested in the science and applications of carbon nanotubes and graphene, provided the reader has some basic knowledge of solid-state physics. The reader will certainly develop many new ideas for applications.