Electromechanical instability in suspended carbon nanotubes
  We have theoretically investigated electromechanical properties of freely suspended carbon nanotubes when a current is injected into the tubes using a scanning tunneling microscope. We show that a shuttle-like electromechanical instability can occur if the bias voltage exceeds a dissipation-dependent threshold value. An instability results in large amplitude vibrations of the carbon nanotube bending mode, which modify the current-voltage characteristics of the system. 
L. M. Jonsson, L. Y Gorelik, R. I. Shekhter, and M. Jonson