Friedrich, Niklas and Roslawska, Anna and Arrieta, Xabier and Kaiser, Katharina and Romeo, Michelangelo and Le Moal, Eric and Scheurer, Fabrice and Aizpurua, Javier and Borisov, Andrei G. and Neuman, Tomas and Schull, Guillaume (2024) Fluorescence from a single-molecule probe directly attached to a plasmonic STM tip. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 15 (1): 9733. ISSN , 2041-1723
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) provides access to atomic-scale properties of a conductive sample. While single-molecule tip functionalization has become a standard procedure, fluorescent molecular probes remained absent from the available tool set. Here, the plasmonic tip of an STM is functionalized with a single fluorescent molecule and is scanned on a plasmonic substrate. The tunneling current flowing through the tip-molecule-substrate junction generates a narrow-line emission of light corresponding to the fluorescence of the negatively charged molecule suspended at the apex of the tip, i.e., the emission of the excited molecular anion. The fluorescence of this molecular probe is recorded for tip-substrate nanocavities featuring different plasmonic resonances, for different tip-substrate distances and applied bias voltages, and on different substrates. We demonstrate that the width of the emission peak can be used as a probe of the exciton-plasmon coupling strength and that the energy of the emitted photons is governed by the molecule interactions with its environment. Additionally, we theoretically elucidate why the direct contact of the suspended molecule with the metallic tip does not totally quench the radiative emission of the molecule. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) gives access to the atomic-scale properties of matter. Here, the authors showcase the fluorescent functionalization of an STM tip using a single molecule in direct metal contact, permitting the local electrostatic and -dynamic environment to be probed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | SURFACES; MODES; |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 530 Physics |
| Divisions: | Physics > Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics > Chair Professor Giessibl > Group Jascha Repp |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Oct 2025 10:53 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Oct 2025 10:53 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/64728 |
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