Infrared transparent carbon nanotube thin films

Abstract

We have measured the infrared properties of optically transparent and electrically conductive single walled carbon nanotube thin films. We found that nanotube films with sheet resistance values of 200 Ω/sq show outstanding transmittance in the infrared range up to at least 22 μm, with an average transmittance greater than 90% over this range. The infrared properties of various materials were compared and we found that transparent nanotube electrodes and transparent graphene electrodes outperform the others in several key categories. This study opens another important application area for conductive nanotube thin films.