A film of well-oriented carbon nanotubes was produced by sublimation decomposition of silicon carbide at 1700 °C by using YAG laser heating in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The processes of SiC decomposition and the formation of carbon nanotubes were observed successively by high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Carbon nanotubes were mostly oriented along the [111] direction on the (111) surface plane of &bgr;-SiC single crystal. The interface between them was observed by HREM. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.