Mean-Field Electrodynamic Theory of Aligned Carbon Nanotube Composites

We propose an improved effective-medium theory to study the interaction of the electromagnetic field with carbon nanotubes composites. The axial response of the tube is obtained by an approximate solution of the parallel polarization scattering by spheroidal-shape inclusions, which takes into account the first-order geometric resonances and intra/inter-band transitions. The proposed theory is in conformity with experimental results published elsewhere. Mathematical derivations are provided to demonstrate that aligned carbon nanotube composites can support negative-refraction wave propagation under certain conditions. The theory is employed to perform a statistical analysis of carbon nanotube composites using practical probability distributions.