Physics (Internal)

Optical Control of Molecular Spontaneous Emission

This event is part of the Biophysics/Condensed Matter Seminar Series.

Planar optical microresonators having a mirror spacing of one half emission wavelength (λ/2) of embedded molecules are unique tools to control the molecular radiative properties and have attracted considerable scientific and technological interest. We developed a new microresonator design that allows us to investigate experimentally the radiative coupling between single molecules and photonic modes of the microresonator. Using confocal optical microscopy and spectroscopy, we studied the influence of the microresonator on the spontaneous emission rate of embedded molecules and the implications on the microresonator-controlled molecular emission. The experimental findings were compared with results obtained from calculations and computer simulations. We demonstrate that it is possible to optically control the vibrational degrees of freedom of single dye molecules and single-walled carbon nanotubes, respectively, by coupling the molecular vibrations to photonic modes of the λ/2-microresonator. Our findings enable tailoring advanced light emitting micro-devices as well as sensing applications for (bio-)chemical analysis offering single molecule sensitivity.