Single Carbon Nanotube Optical Spectroscopy

Abstract
This Minireview discusses novel insights into the electronic structure of carbon nanotubes obtained using single‐molecule fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectra from single nanotubes are well described by a single, Lorentzian lineshape. Nanotubes with identical structures fluoresce with different energies due to local electronic perturbations. Carbon nanotube fluorescence unexpectedly does not show any intensity or spectral fluctuations at 300 K. The lack of intensity blinking or bleaching demonstrates that carbon nanotubes have the potential to provide a stable, single‐molecule infrared photon source, allowing for the exciting possibility of applications in quantum optics and biophotonics.