Efficient narrow-band light emission from a single carbon nanotube p-n diode

Electrically driven light emission from carbon nanotubes1-8 could be used in nanoscale lasers9 and single-photon sources 10, and has therefore been the focus of much research. However, high electric fields and currents have either been necessary for electroluminescence4-8, or have been an undesired side effect 2,3, leading to high power requirements and low efficiencies. Furthermore, electroluminescent linewidths have been broad enough to obscure the contributions of individual optical transitions. Here, we report electrically induced light emission from individual carbon nanotube p-n diodes. A new level of control over electrical carrier injection is achieved, reducing power dissipation by a factor of up to 1,000, and resulting in zero threshold current, negligible self-heating and high carrier-to-photon conversion efficiencies. Moreover, the electroluminescent spectra are significantly narrower (∼35meV) than in previous studies1-8, allowing the identification of emission from free and localized excitons. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.