Melting of metallic electrodes and their flowing through a carbon nanotube channel within a device.

Evidence is presented of a new cause of Joule heating within a simple electronic device involving a multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) mounted on two metal electrodes forming an electrical circuit. This time-resolved, high-resolution in situ observation of metal electrode material melting and its flow driven by the thermomigration and electromigration forces through the CNT channel sheds an additional light on the effects affecting the real electrical performance of the CNT-based devices.