Beyond the linearity of current-voltage characteristics in multiwalled carbon nanotubes

5 pages, 5 figures.-- PACS nrs.: 73.63.Fg, 73.50.Fq, 72.10.Di.-- ArXiv pre-print available at: http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0610519
We present local and non-local electron transport measurements on individual multi-wall nanotubes for bias voltages between 0 and about 4 V. Local current–voltage characteristics are quite linear. In contrast, non-local measurements are highly nonlinear; the differential non-local conductance can even become negative in the high-bias regime. We discuss the relationship between these results and transport parameters such as the elastic length, the number of current carrying shells and the number of conducting modes.
LPA is CNRS-UMR8551 associated to University Paris 6 and 7. The research has been supported by the DGA, ACN, Sesame, the Swiss National Science Foundation, and its NCCR ‘Nanoscale Science’.