High-resolution near-field Raman microscopy of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

We present near-field Raman spectroscopy and imaging of single isolated single-walled carbon nanotubes with a spatial resolution of approximately 25 nm. The near-field origin of the image contrast is confirmed by the measured dependence of the Raman scattering signal on tip-sample distance and the unique polarization properties. The method is used to study local variations in the Raman spectrum along a single single-walled carbon nanotube.