Method Produces Fine-Grained Targets

NASA Langley originally developed a Free Electron Laser (FEL) ablation technique to synthesize single-walled carbon nanotubes. FEL provides a vast improvement over other techniques employed to make carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes produced by FEL are very pure, straight, homogenous, and defect-free. Most notable is that these nanotubes can be produced in much larger quantities than by other laser-based techniques.