Boundary Condition and Strain Effects on the Quality Factors of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

We utilize classical molecular dynamics to study energy dissipation (the Q-factors) of carbon nanotube-based nanoresonators undergoing flexural oscillations. Specifically, we have studied the difference in Q-factors of nanotubes with fixed/fixed and fixed/free boundary conditions. In doing so, we have found that fixed/fixed nanotubes have significantly higher Q-factors, particularly at low temperatures. Furthermore, we have found that mechanical strain can be utilized to enhance the Q-factors of fixed/fixed nanotubes by factors of 2-4 across a range of temperatures for tensile strains ranging from 0 to 6%. The results collectively indicate that fixed/fixed carbon nanotubes should be preferable for NEMS applications at low temperature due to a combination of inherently higher Q-factors, and the fact that the Q-factors can be further improved through the application of tensile strain.