Linear and nonlinear optical properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes

Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNT) have stimulated extensive attention due to their extraordinary electronic properties. Unlike past studies of SWCNT where the tubes were agglomerated in bundles, or, suspended in a solution only recently, we were able to grow well-separated individual SWCNT in a controlled fashion. Moreover, unlike their counterparts, these SWCNT are strongly chiral and semiconductive. Ordered arrays of nano-size spheres (photonic crystals) attracted the attention of many researchers for their linear and nonlinear properties. For example, one is able to design and realize imaging elements thinner than the propagating wavelength or, use these highly dispersive structures to compress or, broaden ultra-short pulses. The optically confining environment of these three-dimensional, periodic structures is particularly attractive when it is imbedded with nonlinear material such as, SWCNT. Here I review experiments at the visible, near IR and THz frequency range using CW, nanosecond and femptosecond pulsed lasers on SWCNT. These tubes were encapsulated in polymers, suspended in solutions or, grown within the voids of photonic crystals. Overall, SWCNT exhibited a large nonlinear characteristic, which is associated with very short-lived photo-induced carriers.