One application is a semiconducting nanotube transistor array. Removing metallic tubes prevents conducting bridges that would bypass gate control; a narrow chirality distribution also narrows the spread of band gaps and switching behaviour. High charge carrier mobility and thin flexible channels are attractive, but contact resistance, tube alignment, residual metallic contamination, dielectric traps and the cost/yield of sorting still limit uniform large-area circuits.
A second is a wavelength-selective near-infrared photodetector or emitter. A selected chirality concentrates absorption and emission around its characteristic nanotube optical transitions, avoiding the broad mixed-tube response. Optical selectivity can be tailored by choosing the species. Limitations include low absolute emission yield, dark exciton states, contact-related recombination, environmental spectral shifts and quenching by bundles or metallic contaminants. Optical and electrical characterization after device processing is needed; the sorting label alone does not guarantee device performance.
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