Optoelectronic Properties of Carbon Nanotube Devices

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit exceptional optoelectronic characteristics arising from one-dimensional confinement, high carrier mobility and chirality-dependent bandgaps. Their strong light–matter interaction enables efficient photon absorption across ultraviolet, visible and infrared regimes, while exciton formation and dissociation at built-in fields or heterojunctions underpin photovoltaic and photodetection processes. CNT networks and films can be integrated with conventional semiconductors or assembled into monolithic three-dimensional circuits, offering compact, low-temperature fabrication routes. Both photothermal (bolometric) and photovoltaic mechanisms have been harnessed to produce rapid, high-responsivity devices. Tunability of spectral response via chirality sorting or hybridisation with biomolecules and two-dimensional materials extends functionality. These advances promise energy-efficient optical communications, environmental sensing and biomedical imaging platforms with scalable, CMOS-compatible manufacturing.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated a fully monolithic optoelectronic platform in which a single CNT material serves as photovoltaic receiver, electrically driven transmitter and on-chip logic element. Using a low-temperature, CMOS-compatible process, vertically stacked transmitters and receivers have been scaled to sub-30 nm and shown to communicate data via a 2 × 2 optical link at room temperature. In parallel, chirality-sorted single-wall CNT networks have been employed in thin-film transistors exhibiting bolometric photothermal response. By selecting specific chiralities, wavelength-selective detection spanning visible to near-infrared is achieved, correlating directly with the absorption spectra of each CNT species. Furthermore, hybrid nanohybrids of semiconducting CNTs wrapped with cytochrome c have realised uncooled infrared detectors with external quantum efficiencies exceeding 90 %, combining efficient exciton dissociation at the bio–CNT interface with rapid charge transport along biological electron chains.

Optoelectronic Properties of Carbon Nanotube Devices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in optoelectronic properties of carbon nanotube devices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Exciton: Bound state of an electron and a hole created by photon absorption in a semiconductor.

Schottky barrier: Energy barrier at a metal–semiconductor interface governing charge-carrier injection and collection.

Bolometric effect: Change in electrical resistance of a material due to heating by absorbed electromagnetic radiation.

External quantum efficiency (EQE): Fraction of incident photons converted into collected charge carriers in a photodetector.

Heterojunction: Junction formed between two dissimilar materials that creates a built-in electric field for charge separation.

References

1. Carbon nanotube-based three-dimensional monolithic optoelectronic integrated system. Nature Communications (2017).
2. Bolometric-Effect-Based Wavelength-Selective Photodetectors Using Sorted Single Chirality Carbon Nanotubes. Scientific Reports (2015).
3. Wrapping cytochrome c around single-wall carbon nanotube: engineered nanohybrid building blocks for infrared detection at high quantum efficiency. Scientific Reports (2015).
4. Preparation and Bolometric Responses of MoS2 Nanoflowers and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composite Network. Nanomaterials (2022).
5. Carbon Nanotube Film/Silicon Heterojunction Photodetector for New Cutting-Edge Technological Devices. Applied Sciences (2021).
6. Bias Tunable Photocurrent in Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Heterostructures with Photoresponse Enhanced by Carbon Nanotubes. Nanomaterials (2019).