Interfacing nanoelectronic devices with cell membranes can enable multiplexed detection of fundamental biological processes (such as signal transduction, electrophysiology, and import/export control) even down to the single ion channel level, which can lead to a variety of applications in pharmacology and clinical diagnosis. Therefore, it is necessary to understand and control the chemical and ...

We demonstrate theoretically that quasi-metallic carbon nanotubes emit terahertz radiation induced by an applied voltage. It is shown that in the ballistic transport regime their spontaneous emission spectra have a universal frequency and bias voltage dependence, which raises the possibility of utilizing this effect for high-frequency nanoelectronic devices.