Formalism of Dielectric Function and Depolarization in SWNT: Application to Nano–Optical Switches and Probes

The paper reviews current theoretical methods to study quasi–electrostatic phenomena in single–wall nanotube systems. Several models are presented to demonstrate importance of selfconsistent calculation of the electric fields for electronic device applications. The quantum mechanical formalism of the dielectric function is chosen to obtain the selfconsistent solution. It gives a unified approach to calculate exciton binding energy, to obtain transverse and longitudinal polarization in the nanotube, to study symmetry breaking and band gap engineering in electric fields, and to perform modelling of ballistic transport in a light–operated switches.