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Spectral Hole-Burning and Related Spectroscopies: Science and Applications

Photon Antibunching In The Fluorescence Of A Single Dye Molecule Trapped In A Solid

Th. Basché, W. E. Moerner, Michel Orrit, H. Talon

Published Jan 1, 1992• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The ability to store single atomic ions in a radio-frequency trap by photon-recoil cooling and detect the emitted fluorescence of the single trapped ions has proven to be a successful way to investigate the fundamental interaction of light and matter and to test our understanding of quantum physics1,2. The extension of these studies to molecules has failed so far, because all molecules - even diatomic species - possess several internal degrees of freedom which prevent laser cooling.

DOI
10.1364/shbl.1992.ma4

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The ability to store single atomic ions in a radio-frequency trap by photon-recoil cooling and detect the emitted fluorescence of the single trapped ions has proven to be a successful way to investigate the fundamental interaction of light and matter and to test our understanding of quantum physics1,2. The extension of these studies to molecules has failed so far, because all molecules - even diatomic species - possess several internal degrees of freedom which prevent laser cooling.
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Single particle spectroscopy has become a source of valuable information on fundamental interactions between light and matter. Whereas trapping and cooling of ions and atoms has been sucessfully achieved, single molecules, because of their multilevel structure (high number of internal degrees of freedom) have not been observed in electromagnetic traps so far. However due to the presence of zero phonon lines in conjunction with inhomogeneous broadening the spectroscopic isolation and detection of single molecules ‘trapped in solids at very low temperatures' is made feasible [1,2]. Single molecule spectroscopy allows to study the distribution of molecular properties and not only the statistical average which is generally observed.
Single-particle spectroscopy has become a source of valuable information on fundamental interactions between light and mat- ter. Whereas trapping and cooling of ions and atoms has been successfully achieved, single molecules, because of their multilevel structure (high number of internal degrees of freedom) have not to date been observed in electromagnetic traps. However, because of the presence of zero phonon lines in conjunction with inhomogeneous broadening, the spectroscopic isolation and detection of single molecules trapped in solids at very low temperatures has been made feasible.1,2 Single-molecule spectroscopy permits the study of the distribution of molecular properties in addition to the statistical average that is generally observed.
Two experiments with single atoms are reviewed. In the first experiment, the interaction of a single Rydberg atom with a single mode of an electromagnetic field was investigated. The quantum collapse and revivals of the atomic inversion predicted by the Jaynes-Cummings model were demonstrated for the first time. In the second experiment, a single atomic ion stored in a radio-frequency trap was probed by resonance fluorescence. In the fluorescent light, antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics were detected. Furthermore, 'crystallization' and 'evaporation' of few ions in a trap were observed as the stored ions were cooled by the laser light and heated by the radio-frequency field of the trap.>