Abstract Submitted to the    NANOTUBE'04 Conference:

Nanotubes made of Boron Nitride and Boron-Carbon-Nitride were prepared and their electrical behavior, i.e. transport and field emission properties, were analyzed as a function of BN-rich and C-rich layer spatial arrangement and tube overall chemical composition. The I-V curves were measured in transmission and low energy electron point source microscopes. It was found that B-C-N nanotube conductance may be smoothly tuned as a function of these easy-to-control parameters. Inorganic nanotube (BN, MgO, C, In2O3, SiO2) filling with various materials, e.g. wide liquid range metals, oxygen-release compounds, semiconducting and ferromagnetic nanowires, was accomplished. This correspondingly creates: nanodevices for temperature measurements on a sub-micron scale; nanoscale oxygen burners/generators; and insulating nanocables for nanotechnology multi-purposes. Phase transformations, thermal expansion and crystallography of various filled phases confined with a nanotube shape were thor oughly investigated using HRTEM and electron diffraction with a nanosize electron probe. Semiconducting nanotubes made of widely used cubic lattice materials, i.e. GaN and Si were synthesized using templating. Finally, microtubes composed of C or Si were prepared. The latter tubes create new opportunities in performing in-channel nanotube metallurgical and chemical operations.