Polarized light emission from individual incandescent carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This study demonstrates polarized light emission from individual incandescent carbon nanotubes, revealing a high degree of polarization consistent with theoretical Mie model predictions, and provides insights into nanoscale thermal light sources.

Contribution

It is the first to experimentally observe and analyze polarized thermal emission from single carbon nanotubes, validating theoretical models of their optical properties.

Findings

Degree of polarization around 75%

Emission spectra match Mie model predictions

Nanoscale incandescent light source characterization

Abstract

We fabricate nanoscale lamps which have a filament consisting of a single multiwalled carbon nanotube. After determining the nanotube geometry with a transmission electron microscope, we use Joule heating to bring the filament to incandescence, with peak temperatures in excess of 2000 K. We image the thermal light in both polarizations simultaneously as a function of wavelength and input electrical power. The observed degree of polarization is typically of the order of 75%, a magnitude predicted by a Mie model of the filament that assigns graphene's optical conductance $\pi e^2/2 h$ to each nanotube wall.