Probing electronic transitions in individual carbon nanotubes by Rayleigh scattering.

Rayleigh scattering spectra were obtained from individual single-walled carbon nanotubes with the use of a laser-generated visible and near-infrared supercontinuum. This diagnostic method is noninvasive and general for nanoscale objects. The approach permits clear identification of excited states in arbitrary metallic and semiconducting nanotubes.