The big picture of Raman scattering in carbon nanotubes

A big picture view of Raman scattering in carbon nanotubes is presented, starting from its early history and the discovery of the unique Raman spectra of carbon nanotubes, and following on to the discovery of Raman spectra at the single nanotube level and a more detailed understanding of the scattering mechanism in terms of the excitonic picture. Recent developments and an outlook to the future of the field are emphasized along with the special role that Brazilian researchers have played in the development of the field. Both the advance in our understanding of Raman scattering in ID systems and the use of Raman scattering to advance carbon nanotube research and sample characterization are discussed. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.