We show, via simulations, that an optical fiber taper waveguide can be an efficient tool for photoluminescence and resonant, extinction spectroscopy of single emitters, such as molecules or colloidal quantum dots, deposited on the surface of a thin dielectric membrane. Placed over a high refractive index membrane, a tapered fiber waveguide induces the formation of hybrid mode waves, akin to dielectric slotted waveguide modes, that provide strong field confinement in the low index gap region. The availability of such gap-confined waves yields potentially high spontaneous emission enhancement factors (≈ 20), fluorescence collection efficiencies (≈ 23 %), and transmission extinction (≈ 20 %) levels. A factor of two improvement in fluorescence and extinction levels is predicted if the membrane is instead replaced with a suspended channel waveguide. Two configurations, for operation in the visible (≈ 600 nm) and near-infrared (≈ 1300 nm) spectral ranges are evaluated, presenting similar performances.

© 2010 Optical Society of America

1. V. R. Almeida, Q. Xu, C. A. Barrios, and M. Lipson, "Guiding and confining light in void nanostructure," Opt. Lett. 29, 1209-1211 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
2. A. H. J. Yang, S. D. Moore, B. S. Schmidt, M. Klug, M. Lipson, and D. Erickson, "Optical manipulation of nanoparticles and biomolecules in sub-wavelength slot waveguides," Nature 457, 71-75 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
3. C. Koos, P. Vorreau, T. Vallaitis, P. Dumon, W. Bogaerts, R. Baets, B. Esembeson, I. Biaggio, T. Michinobu, F. Diederich, W. Freude, and J. Leuthold, "All-optical high-speed signal processing with silicon-organic hybrid slot waveguides," Nat. Photon. 3, 216-219 (2009). [CrossRef]
4. Y. C. Jun, R. M. Briggs, H. A. Atwater, and M. L. Brongersma, "Broadband enhancement of light emission insilicon slot waveguides," Opt. Express 17, 7479-7490 (2009), http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-17-9-7479 [CrossRef] [PubMed]
5. W. Moerner, "Examining nanoenvironments in solids on the scale of a single, isolated inpurity molecule," Science 265, 46-53 (1994). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
6. W. E. Moerner, "Single-photon sources based on single molecules in solids," N. J. Phys. 6, 88 (2004). [CrossRef]
7. J. Hwang, M. Pototschnig, R. Lettow, G. Zumofen, A. Renn, S. Gotzinger, and V. Sandoghdar, "A singlemolecule optical transistor," Nature 460, 76-80 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
8. K. Srinivasan, O. Painter, A. Stintz, and S. Krishna, "Single quantum dot spectroscopy using a fiber taper waveguide near-field optic," Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 091102 (2007). [CrossRef]
9. M. Davanc¸o and K. Srinivasan, "Efficient spectroscopy of single embedded emitters using optical fiber taper waveguides," Opt. Express 17, 10542-10563 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
10. M. Davanc¸o and K. Srinivasan, "Fiber-coupled semiconductor waveguides as an efficient optical interface to a single quantum dipole," Opt. Lett. 34, 2542-2544 (2009), http://ol.osa.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-34-16-2542 [CrossRef] [PubMed]
11. A. W. Snyder and J. D. Love, Optical Waveguide Theory (Chapman and Hall, New York, NY, 1983).
12. I. Gerhardt, G. Wrigge, P. Bushev, G. Zumofen, M. Agio, R. Pfab, and V. Sandoghdar, "Strong Extinction of a Laser Beam by a Single Molecule," Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 033601 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
13. J. Lee, V. C. Sundar, J. R. Heine, M. G. Bawendi, and K. F. Jensen, "Full Color Emission from II-VI Semiconductor Quantum Dot-Polymer Composites," Adv. Mater. 12, 1102-1105 (2000). [CrossRef]
14. R. D. Schaller, M. A. Petruska, and V. Klimov, "Tunable Near-Infrared Optical Gain and Amplified Spontaneous Emission Using PbSe Nanocrystals," J. Phys. Chem. B 107, 13765-13768 (2003). [CrossRef]
15. A. Zumbusch, L. Fleury, R. Brown, J. Bernard, and M. Orrit, "Probing individual two-level systems in a polymer by correlation of single molecule fluorescence," Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 3584-3587 (1993). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
16. M. Orrit and J. Bernard, "Single pentacene molecules detected by fluorescence excitation in a p-terphenyl crystal," Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 2716-2719 (1990). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
17. G. S. Harms, T. Irngartinger, D. Reiss, A. Renn, and U. P. Wild, "Fluorescence lifetimes of terrylene in solid matrices," Chem. Phys. Lett. 313, 533-538 (1999). [CrossRef]
18. T. Bottger, C. W. Thiel, Y. Sun, and R. L. Cone, "Optical decoherence and spectral diffusion at 1.5 μ in Er3+:Y2SiO5 versus magnetic field, temperature, and Er3+ concentration," Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 73, 075101 (2006). [CrossRef]
19. W.-P. Huang, "Coupled-mode theory for optical waveguides: and overview," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 11, 963-983 (1994). [CrossRef]
20. Following Ref. [19], the fiber mode fraction, Eq. (2), would be given by the expression fm = _ f |m__m| f _ (_ f | f __m|m_)^-1, where _ f |m_ =∬ ∫ (ef ×h^*_m +h_f×e^* _mm_ · ˆzdS/4. Considering no reflections at the interface between the isolated fiber and the contact region, (i.e., the field just after the interface is identical to the incident, foward propagating, field), Eq. (2) gives the same result.
21. S. J. van Enk, "Atoms, dipole waves, and strongly focused light beams," Phys. Rev. A 69, 043813 (2004). [CrossRef]
22. F. Wise, "Lead salt quantum dots: The limit of strong quantum confinement," Acc. Chem. Res. 33, 773-780 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
23. R. J. Pfab, J. Zimmermann, C. Hettich, I. Gerhardt, A. Renn, and V. Sandoghdar, "Aligned terrylene molecules in a spin-coated ultrathin crystalline film of p-terphenyl," Chem. Phys. Lett. 387, 490-495 (2004). [CrossRef]
24. V. S. C. M. Rao and S. Hughes, "Single quantum-dot Purcell factor and beta factor in a photonic crystal waveguide," Phys. Rev. B 75, 205437 (2007). [CrossRef]
25. Q4. G. Lecamp, P. Lalanne, and J. P. Hugonin, "Very Large Spontaneous-Emission beta Factors in Photonic-Crystal Waveguides," Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
26. G. Wrigge, I. Gerhardt, J. Hwang, G. Zumofen, and V. Sandoghdar, "Efficient coupling of photons to a single molecule and the observation of its resonance fluorescence," Nat. Phys. 4, 60-66 (2008). [CrossRef]
27. M. T. Rakher, R. Bose, C. W. Wong, and K. Srinivasan, "Spectroscopy of 1.55 m PbS Quantum Dots on Si Photonic Crystal Cavities with a Fiber Taper Waveguide," arXiv:0912.1365v1 (2009).
28. M.W. McCutcheon and M. Loncar, "Design of a silicon nitride photonic crystal nanocavity with a Quality factor of one million for coupling to a diamond nanocrystal," Opt. Express 16, 19136-19145 (2008), http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-16-23-19136 [CrossRef]
29. R. F. Oulton, V. J. Sorger, T. Zentgraf, R.-M. Ma, C. Gladden, L. Dai, G. Bartal, and X. Zhang, "Plasmon lasers at deep subwavelength scale," Nature 461, 629-632 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Acc. Chem. Res.

• F. Wise, "Lead salt quantum dots: The limit of strong quantum confinement," Acc. Chem. Res. 33, 773-780 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Adv. Mater.

• J. Lee, V. C. Sundar, J. R. Heine, M. G. Bawendi, and K. F. Jensen, "Full Color Emission from II-VI Semiconductor Quantum Dot-Polymer Composites," Adv. Mater. 12, 1102-1105 (2000). [CrossRef]

Appl. Phys. Lett.

• K. Srinivasan, O. Painter, A. Stintz, and S. Krishna, "Single quantum dot spectroscopy using a fiber taper waveguide near-field optic," Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 091102 (2007). [CrossRef]

Chem. Phys. Lett.

• G. S. Harms, T. Irngartinger, D. Reiss, A. Renn, and U. P. Wild, "Fluorescence lifetimes of terrylene in solid matrices," Chem. Phys. Lett. 313, 533-538 (1999). [CrossRef]
• R. J. Pfab, J. Zimmermann, C. Hettich, I. Gerhardt, A. Renn, and V. Sandoghdar, "Aligned terrylene molecules in a spin-coated ultrathin crystalline film of p-terphenyl," Chem. Phys. Lett. 387, 490-495 (2004). [CrossRef]

J. Opt. Soc. Am. A

• W.-P. Huang, "Coupled-mode theory for optical waveguides: and overview," J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 11, 963-983 (1994). [CrossRef]

J. Phys. Chem. B

• R. D. Schaller, M. A. Petruska, and V. Klimov, "Tunable Near-Infrared Optical Gain and Amplified Spontaneous Emission Using PbSe Nanocrystals," J. Phys. Chem. B 107, 13765-13768 (2003). [CrossRef]

N. J. Phys.

• W. E. Moerner, "Single-photon sources based on single molecules in solids," N. J. Phys. 6, 88 (2004). [CrossRef]

Nat. Photon.

• C. Koos, P. Vorreau, T. Vallaitis, P. Dumon, W. Bogaerts, R. Baets, B. Esembeson, I. Biaggio, T. Michinobu, F. Diederich, W. Freude, and J. Leuthold, "All-optical high-speed signal processing with silicon-organic hybrid slot waveguides," Nat. Photon. 3, 216-219 (2009). [CrossRef]

Nat. Phys.

• G. Wrigge, I. Gerhardt, J. Hwang, G. Zumofen, and V. Sandoghdar, "Efficient coupling of photons to a single molecule and the observation of its resonance fluorescence," Nat. Phys. 4, 60-66 (2008). [CrossRef]

Nature

• R. F. Oulton, V. J. Sorger, T. Zentgraf, R.-M. Ma, C. Gladden, L. Dai, G. Bartal, and X. Zhang, "Plasmon lasers at deep subwavelength scale," Nature 461, 629-632 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• A. H. J. Yang, S. D. Moore, B. S. Schmidt, M. Klug, M. Lipson, and D. Erickson, "Optical manipulation of nanoparticles and biomolecules in sub-wavelength slot waveguides," Nature 457, 71-75 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• J. Hwang, M. Pototschnig, R. Lettow, G. Zumofen, A. Renn, S. Gotzinger, and V. Sandoghdar, "A singlemolecule optical transistor," Nature 460, 76-80 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Opt. Express

• Y. C. Jun, R. M. Briggs, H. A. Atwater, and M. L. Brongersma, "Broadband enhancement of light emission insilicon slot waveguides," Opt. Express 17, 7479-7490 (2009), http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-17-9-7479 [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• M. Davanc¸o and K. Srinivasan, "Efficient spectroscopy of single embedded emitters using optical fiber taper waveguides," Opt. Express 17, 10542-10563 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• M.W. McCutcheon and M. Loncar, "Design of a silicon nitride photonic crystal nanocavity with a Quality factor of one million for coupling to a diamond nanocrystal," Opt. Express 16, 19136-19145 (2008), http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-16-23-19136 [CrossRef]

Opt. Lett.

• M. Davanc¸o and K. Srinivasan, "Fiber-coupled semiconductor waveguides as an efficient optical interface to a single quantum dipole," Opt. Lett. 34, 2542-2544 (2009), http://ol.osa.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-34-16-2542 [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• V. R. Almeida, Q. Xu, C. A. Barrios, and M. Lipson, "Guiding and confining light in void nanostructure," Opt. Lett. 29, 1209-1211 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Phys. Rev. A

• S. J. van Enk, "Atoms, dipole waves, and strongly focused light beams," Phys. Rev. A 69, 043813 (2004). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. B

• V. S. C. M. Rao and S. Hughes, "Single quantum-dot Purcell factor and beta factor in a photonic crystal waveguide," Phys. Rev. B 75, 205437 (2007). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys.

• T. Bottger, C. W. Thiel, Y. Sun, and R. L. Cone, "Optical decoherence and spectral diffusion at 1.5 μ in Er3+:Y2SiO5 versus magnetic field, temperature, and Er3+ concentration," Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 73, 075101 (2006). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. Lett.

• A. Zumbusch, L. Fleury, R. Brown, J. Bernard, and M. Orrit, "Probing individual two-level systems in a polymer by correlation of single molecule fluorescence," Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 3584-3587 (1993). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• M. Orrit and J. Bernard, "Single pentacene molecules detected by fluorescence excitation in a p-terphenyl crystal," Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 2716-2719 (1990). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• Q4. G. Lecamp, P. Lalanne, and J. P. Hugonin, "Very Large Spontaneous-Emission beta Factors in Photonic-Crystal Waveguides," Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• I. Gerhardt, G. Wrigge, P. Bushev, G. Zumofen, M. Agio, R. Pfab, and V. Sandoghdar, "Strong Extinction of a Laser Beam by a Single Molecule," Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 033601 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Science

• W. Moerner, "Examining nanoenvironments in solids on the scale of a single, isolated inpurity molecule," Science 265, 46-53 (1994). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Other

• A. W. Snyder and J. D. Love, Optical Waveguide Theory (Chapman and Hall, New York, NY, 1983).
• Following Ref. [19], the fiber mode fraction, Eq. (2), would be given by the expression fm = _ f |m__m| f _ (_ f | f __m|m_)^-1, where _ f |m_ =∬ ∫ (ef ×h^*_m +h_f×e^* _mm_ · ˆzdS/4. Considering no reflections at the interface between the isolated fiber and the contact region, (i.e., the field just after the interface is identical to the incident, foward propagating, field), Eq. (2) gives the same result.
• M. T. Rakher, R. Bose, C. W. Wong, and K. Srinivasan, "Spectroscopy of 1.55 m PbS Quantum Dots on Si Photonic Crystal Cavities with a Fiber Taper Waveguide," arXiv:0912.1365v1 (2009).

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