Single-molecule optical switching of terrylene in p-terphenyl

A. Müller, W. Richter, L. Kador

R. Purchase, А. А. Горшелев, B. M. Kharlamov +2 more

L. Kador, Andreas Müller

Persistent hole burning is possible in the inhomogeneous absorption bands X1 and X3 of the system terrylene in p−terphenyl. Whereas the holes are stable in X1, they decay with a time constant of a few seconds in X3. In crystals with very low dye concentration, shallow holes can be observed which consist of few (or even one single) molecular lines and can be distinctly narrower than twice the homogeneous linewidth. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the experimental findings.

David J. Norris, Makoto Kuwata‐Gonokami, W. E. Moerner

We use the optical resonance of a spherical microcavity (quality factor ∼106) to excite a single molecule. By attaching a p-terphenyl crystal doped with pentacene and terrylene molecules to a dielectric sphere, we detect individual molecules excited by the near field of the cavity. A low-temperature optical microscope is utilized to image the emission from the single molecule, determine its position on the sphere surface, and measure its absorption linewidth. These results demonstrate the feasibility of single-molecule cavity quantum electrodynamics.

W. E. Moerner, Robert M. Dickson, David J. Norris

Jens Michaelis, Christian Hettich, Anatoly V. Zayats +3 more

Single terrylene molecules embedded in microscopic p-terphenyl crystals are identified with the technique of fluorescence excitation spectroscopy. By use of the architecture of a scanning-probe microscope at T = 1.4 K , a single molecule is scanned through an excitation laser beam while the fluorescence signal is recorded. In this manner we have mapped the intensity distribution in a one-dimensional optical standing wave, demonstrating the potential of a single molecule as a nanometric probe. We discuss future experiments aimed at combining the high spatial and spectral sensitivity of a single molecule.