A carbon nanotube oscillator as a surface profiling device.

A double wall carbon nanotube oscillator near an infinite surface with the nanotube axis perpendicular to the surface is investigated. The oscillatory motion is governed in part by the van der Waals forces in the system, and we use the Lennard-Jones approximation for their calculation. In addition, friction losses due to the proximity of the oscillating nanotube near the infinite surface are taken into account using a phenomenological model. Newton's equation is solved and the oscillatory motion is studied as a function of the nanotube-surface distance, the nanotube length, and the initial extrusion of the moving nanotube. A practical device for surface profiling is also proposed.