Subnanosecond spectral diffusion measurement using photon correlation
Abstract
Spectral diffusion is a result of random spectral jumps of a narrow line as a result of a fluctuating environment. It is an important issue in spectroscopy, because the observed spectral broadening prevents access to the intrinsic line properties. However, its characteristic parameters provide local information on the environment of a light emitter embedded in a solid matrix, or moving within a fluid, leading to numerous applications in physics and biology. We present a new experimental technique for measuring spectral diffusion based on photon correlations within a spectral line. Autocorrelation on half of the line and cross-correlation between the two halves give a quantitative value of the spectral diffusion time, with a resolution only limited by the correlation set-up. We have measured spectral diffusion of the photoluminescence of a single light emitter with a time resolution of 90 ps, exceeding by four orders of magnitude the best resolution reported to date.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1207.0676,
title = {Subnanosecond spectral diffusion measurement using photon correlation},
author = {Gregory Sallen and Adrien Tribu and Thomas Aichele and Régis André and Lucien Besombes and Catherine Bougerol and Maxime Richard and Serge Tatarenko and Kuntheak Kheng and Jean-Philippe Poizat},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1207.0676},
year = {2012}
}