US Patent 7615205 Carbon nanotube arrays and manufacturing methods thereof

A carbon nanotube array (10) includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes (14) aligned in a uniform direction. Each carbon nanotube has at least one line mark (16) formed thereon. A method for manufacturing the described carbon nanotube array includes the following steps: (a) providing a substrate (12); (b) forming a catalyst layer on the substrate; (c) heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature; and (d) intermittently introducing/providing and then interrupting a reaction gas proximate the substrate to grow a patterned carbon nanotube array, each carbon nanotube having at least one line mark formed thereon as a result of the patterned growth.