Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-49). / A search of published research on sensing mechanisms of carbon nanotubes was performed to identify applications in which carbon nanotubes might improve on current sensor technologies, in either offering improved performance, reduced cost of manufacture, or both. Using this overview of carbon nanotube-based sensors, specific sensor technologies that could benefit from the use of newly developed techniques for producing aligned and ordered bundles of carbon nanotubes were selected. Reports of chemical/gas, biological, optical, mechanical, and a few other sensor applications of carbon nanotubes are reviewed. Only a few of these applications might benefit from aligned and ordered bundles of carbon nanotubes. Of these potential applications, only applications in semiconducting gas sensors, DNA sensors, and infrared sensors appear to have clearly defined market niches and are sufficiently technologically mature to allow a detailed assessment of commercial potential. It is argued that DNA and infrared sensors have good commercial potential with a medium amount of risks, while gas sensors have a smaller potential. Finally, DNA sensors are believed to derive the most value from aligned and ordered bundles of carbon nanotubes. / by Scott I. Rushfeldt. / M.Eng.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33619 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Rushfeldt, Scott I |
| Contributors | Carl V. Thompson., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering. |
| Publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | M.I.T. Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 69 leaves (some folded), 3696226 bytes, 3699036 bytes, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 |
Page generated in 0.0157 seconds