Broadband light emission from optically-trapped carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Optical micromanipulation of carbon nanotubes (CNT), that has hitherto been elusive, has been achieved in an aqueous suspension of CNTs in an optical tweezers setup, via the mediation of microbubbles. These microbubbles are formed when CNT bundles are brought to the focal volume. With the bubbles themselves being easily trappable in the tweezers, the CNTs adhered to the surface of the microbubbles can now be held immobilised. CNTs held in the optical trap focus are found to emit bright light in the visible, which may be a sustained glow, or an uncontrolled flare. These observations and the underlying mechanisms will be discussed in the talk.