Related papers: Short-range spectroscopic ruler based on a single-…
A single quantum emitter can possess a very strong intrinsic nonlinearity, but its overall promise for nonlinear effects is hampered by the challenge of efficient coupling to incident photons. Common nonlinear optical materials, on the…
A novel ultrafast all-optical switching mechanism is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally based on a plasmonic analog of the effect of \textit{Enhancement of Index of Refraction}(EIR) in quantum optics. In the quantum optical EIR…
The combination of single photon emitters (quantum dots) and tailored metal nanoparticles with defined size and shape allows a detailed study of the interaction between light and matter. The enhanced optical near-field of the nanoparticles…
Fluorescent molecules emit light in a dipole radiation pattern that can be used to infer their orientation through defocused fluorescence microscopy. Proper measurement of the orientation requires mathematical modeling of the radiation…
The interplay between the oxidation state and the optical properties of molecules plays a key role for applications in displays, sensors or molecular-based memories. The fundamental mechanisms occurring at the level of a single-molecule…
We show that the momentum of light can be reversed via the atomic coherence created by another light with one or two orders of magnitude lower frequency. Both the backward retrieval of single photons from a timed Dicke state and the…
We report on an all-optical switch that operates at low light levels. It consists of laser beams counterpropagating through a warm rubidium vapor that induce an off-axis optical pattern. A switching laser beam causes this pattern to rotate…
Single-molecule detection enables direct observation of individual biomolecular events, providing mechanistic insights into biological processes and offering a powerful tool for disease diagnostics. However, the fundamental scale mismatch…
Controlling structural transitions between molecular configurations is crucial for advancing functional molecular electronics. While reversible switching of bistable two-state molecules has been achieved, creating molecular systems that can…
We introduce the basic elements of a spatio-angular theory of fluorescence microscopy, providing a unified framework for analyzing systems that image single fluorescent dipoles and ensembles of overlapping dipoles that label biological…
We describe a two-beam interference structured illumination fluorescence microscope. The novelty of the presented system lies in its simplicity. A programmable electro-optical spatial light modulator in an intermediate image plane enables…
Single molecule fluorescence tracking provides information at nm-scale and ms-temporal resolution about the dynamics and interaction of individual molecules in a biological environment. While the dynamic behavior of isolated molecules can…
Isolating single molecules in the solid state has allowed fundamental experiments in basic and applied sciences. When cooled down to liquid helium temperature, certain molecules show transition lines, that are tens of megahertz wide,…
We present a consistent analysis of linear spectroscopy for arrays of nearest neighbor dipole-coupled two-level molecules that reveals distinct signatures of weak and strong coupling regimes separated for infinite size arrays by a quantum…
Using the highly localized current of electrons tunneling through a double barrier Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) junction, we excite luminescence from a selected C$_{60}$ molecule in the surface layer of fullerene nanocrystals grown…
All-optical switching is a technique in which a gate light pulse changes the transmission of a target light pulse without the detour via electronic signal processing. We take this to the quantum regime, where the incoming gate light pulse…
The realization of an all-optical transistor where one 'gate' photon controls a 'source' light beam, is a long-standing goal in optics. By stopping a light pulse in an atomic ensemble contained inside an optical resonator, we realize a…
Next-generation communication networks require > Tbit/s single-channel data transfer and processing with sub-picosecond switches and routers at network nodes. Materials enabling ultrafast all-optical switching have high potential to solve…
Ultrafast all-optical logic devices based on nonlinear light-matter interactions hold the promise to overcome the speed limitations of conventional electronic devices. Strong coupling of excitons and photons inside an optical resonator…
We investigate the reduction of the electromagnetic field fluctuations in resonance fluorescence from a single emitter coupled to an optical nanostructure. We find that such hybrid system can lead to the creation of squeezed states of…