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Gate-variable light absorption and emission in a semiconducting carbon nanotube
Mathias Steiner1, Marcus Freitag, Vasili Perebeinos
1IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
Nano Letters
|July 30, 2009
Summary
We found that applying an electric field to semiconducting carbon nanotubes significantly alters their light absorption and emission. This electric field doping offers a new way to control the optical properties of these nanotubes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Optoelectronics
Background:
- Individual semiconducting carbon nanotubes exhibit unique optical properties.
- Controlling these optical properties is crucial for developing advanced electronic and photonic devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how an applied electric field (gate field) influences the light absorption and emission of a single semiconducting carbon nanotube.
- To understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for these observed changes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Raman spectroscopy to study light absorption.
- Employed photoluminescence spectroscopy to analyze light emission.
- Investigated an individual, suspended semiconducting carbon nanotube.
Main Results:
- Observed a significant reduction in absorption strength with increasing gate field.
- Detected a red shift in the E(33) state energy under applied gate fields.
- Found that photoluminescence from the E(11) state was strongly quenched by the gate field.
Conclusions:
- Field-doping in carbon nanotubes directly impacts exciton dynamics, affecting both radiative and non-radiative decay rates.
- Gate field-induced doping provides an effective method for tuning the optical characteristics of carbon nanotube-based devices.
