Imaging the interaction of single-emitters with dielectric nanoantennas. (IMAGE)
Caption
The interaction between single molecules and a gap nanoantenna made of gallium phosphide is measured thanks to single-molecule fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (smFLIM). This technique provides spatial and temporal information at the nanoscale of the radiative decay rate of single fluorescent molecules in the near-field of the nanoantenna and highlights the potential of dielectric materials in nanophotonics. An artistic view of the sample, that presents a nice intensity hotspot in the gap, is shown in the figure. The antenna is labeled with fluorescent molecules. The decay rate of each emitting molecule is measured together with their super-resolved position. A super-resolved map of the radiative decay rate is reported below the structure. Molecules in the gap (yellow dot) experience a 30-fold enhancement of the radiative decay rate.
Credit
by R. Margoth Córdova-Castro, Bart van Dam, Alberto Lauri, Stefan A. Maier, Riccardo Sapienza, Yannick De Wilde, Ignacio Izeddin, and Valentina Krachmalnicoff
Usage Restrictions
Credit must be given to the creator.
License
CC BY