Fluorescence at a Surface.
Abstract
Fluorescence emitted by an atom near a metal surface and the coupling of the surface plasmon field of a dielectric substrate to a molecular electronic transition are studied. Explicit expressions for the atomic and molecular lifetimes are derived. It is shown how the (classical) phase shift of a plane wave upon reflection at the surface is responsible for the alteration of atomic lifetimes. Subsequently, it is demonstrated that the dipole direction of an atom can be fixed by illumination of the system with a polarized light source. For molecular transitions, the surface-plasmon and the surface-roughness contribution to the decay constants are included. In a comparison between the image theory and the energy-transfer theory, it appears that the former can be rather inaccurate for large molecule-surface separations or a highly-conducting substrate. Keywords: Fluorescence, Lifetimes, Surface, Photon, Correlations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA181859
Entities
People
- Henk F. Arnoldus
- P. T. Leung
- Thomas F. George
Organizations
- University at Buffalo