Ratio problem in single carbon nanotube fluorescence spectroscopy

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 May 23;90(20):207401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.207401. Epub 2003 May 20.

Abstract

The electronic band gaps measured in fluorescence spectroscopy on individual single wall carbon nanotubes isolated within micelles show significant deviations from the predictions of one electron band theory. We resolve this problem by developing a theory of the electron-hole interaction in the photoexcited states. The one-dimensional character and tubular structure introduce a novel relaxation pathway for carriers photoexcited above the fundamental band edge. Analytic expression for the energies and line shapes of higher subband excitons are derived, and a comparison with experiment is used to extract the value of the screened electron-hole interaction.