Coupling of single DBT molecules to a graphene monolayer: proof of principle for a graphene nanoruler.
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Coupling of single DBT molecules to a graphene monolayer: proof of principle for a graphene nanoruler. G. Mazzamuto1, A. Tabani1, S. Pazzagli1, S. Rizvi1, A. Reserbat-Plantey5, K. Schädler5, G. Navickaite5, L. Gaudreau5, F.S. Cataliotti1,2,3, F. Koppens5, and C. Toninelli1,3,4 1
LENS and Università di Firenze, Via Nello Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia, Via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy 3 QSTAR, Largo Enrico Fermi 2, I-50125 Firenze, Italy 4 INO, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Largo Fermi 6, I-50125 Firenze, Italy 5 ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, Mediterranean Technology Park, E-08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain 2
E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT We report on our recent progress in the study of single Dibenzoterrylene (DBT) molecules as single photon sources and nanoscale probes. We consider DBT molecules embedded in thin anthracene films, a system that allows stable single photon emission both at room and at cryogenic temperatures. We investigate the most important optical properties of the DBT:anthracene system as a whole. We then perform a full statistical study of the coupling between single DBT molecules by measuring the lifetimes of DBT both in the coupled and in the uncoupled case. The experimental results are framed into a simple universal scaling model, where the magnitude of coupling depends solely on universal parameters and on the distance d between the single emitter and the graphene monolayer. We apply this model to infer d and provide a proof of principle for a position ruler at the nanoscale [1]. INTRODUCTION Organic molecules embedded in a solid matrix are for many purposes interesting alternatives to quantum dots or NV-centers in diamonds as single photon-sources [2]. Here we consider single Dibenzoterrylene (DBT) molecules embedded in thin anthracene crystals (DBT:Anth). Such system is interesting in that it combines the brightness of organic fluorescent dye molecules with the photostability over days of intense illumination [3]. The anthracene matrix acts as a protective host, preventing oxygen diffusion and consequently ensuring high resistance to photobleaching. Furthermore the solid matrix is only few tens of nanometers thick, therefore coupling to external nanostructures is possible [4]. DBT is an ideal emitter for quantum-optics experiments because its emission into the zero-phonon line (ZPL, the purely electronic transition line, as shown in figure 1) around 785 nm is not subject to dephasing at cryogenic temperatures and, as a result, its width is only limited by the excited-state lifetime to 30 MHz [5, 6]. A single atom or molecule in the vicinity of a planar layered medium represents a paradigmatic system in near field physics. Molecules close to surfaces are indeed ideal probes of
local effects and fields, as they are affected by the local environment at the nanometer scale, i.e. on the order of their physical size [7–9]. In the quest for efficient light–matter interfaces, on which optical sensing and phot
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