Electronic structure of carbon nanotubes

This paper is a review of the theoretical and experimental studies devoted so far to the electronic structure of pure carbon nanotubes, including single-wall, multiwall, and ropes of single-wall nanotubes. A universal picture of the band structure of single-wall nanotubes is obtained by exploiting a particular helical symmetry. A brief description of the optical properties of the nanotubes is also presented. Potential applications of carbon nanotubes in nanoelectronics are described.