Imaging single carbon nanotubes with thermal radiation

We have constructed tiny light bulbs, visible to the naked eye, using individual carbon nanotubes as filaments. A nanotube is suspended over a hole in a solid silicon substrate, and is heated to incandescence with electrical current. Diffraction-limited optical microscopy identifies the nanotube position and orientation, and allows direct comparison with high-resolution transmission electron micrographs of the same nanotube. Our current progress toward quantitative pyrometry will be described.