ABSTRACT
Nonlinear carbon nanostructures such as Y-shaped carbon nanotube morphologies are interesting in that they represent new paradigms of nanostructures and potential applications. These forms have been synthesized through the use of certain catalysts that promote branching on linear nanotube structures. In a shining example in which “function follows form,” the Y-shaped structures have been used for three terminal switching devices. Additionally, the varying diameters of the individual branches can be designed to play a role in current blocking that may be used for space charge-based devices integrated with linear electronics. While not all the parameters responsible for their formation have been elucidated, it is presumed that such details are pertinent for observing interesting variants of electrical behavior. This chapter considers these implications in terms of their nanostructure property relationships. The overall goal is to investigate possibilities for obtaining novel functionalities at nanoscale level that may lead to new device paradigms.
