Robotic Furnace System for Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Growth

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes hold much promise with regards to their potential application in various fields. However, due to the sensitive nature of the manufacturing process, efforts to produce a batch that has uniform height have proven difficult. The key variables of this process have been identified to be the temperature of the gas and its composition when encountering the growth substrates. The objective of this project is to develop an automated control system to minimize and compensate for deviations in the driving variables, thus ensuring even growth across the batch. It is also necessary to give the user control over the batch's growth. This is to be done by implementing a real-time, in-situ growth measurement device as well as an automated furnace system.