Antenna-enhanced photocurrent microscopy on single-walled carbon nanotubes at 30 nm resolution

We present the first photocurrent measurements along single carbon nanotube (CNT) devices with 30 nm resolution. Our technique is based on tip-enhanced near-field optical microscopy, exploiting the plasmonically enhanced absorption controlled by an optical nanoantenna. This allows for imaging of the zero-bias photocurrent caused by charge separation in local built-in electric fields at the contacts and close to charged particles that cannot be resolved using confocal microscopy. Simultaneously recorded Raman scattering images reveal the structural properties and the defect densities of the CNTs. Antenna-enhanced scanning photocurrent microscopy extends the available set of scanning-probe techniques by combining high-resolution photovoltaic and optical probing and could become a valuable tool for the characterization of nanoelectronic devices. © 2012 American Chemical Society.