Cross-polarized optical absorption of single-walled nanotubes probed by polarized photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy

Cross-polarized absorption peaks of isolated single-walled carbon nanotubes were observed by a polarized photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy. Using a simple theory for PL anisotropy, the observed PLE spectra are decomposed into ‘pure’ components of the photoexcitation for incident light polarized parallel and perpendicular to the SWNT axis. For several (n, m) SWNTs, distinct peaks corresponding to perpendicular excitation were observed. The measured transition energies for perpendicular excitations were blue-shifted compared to the qualitative values predicted within a single-particle theory. The results indicate a smaller exciton binding energy for perpendicular excitations than for parallel excitations.