Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces Laboratory

Sept. 17, 2018 Seminar at 10h30, VE102

Single-Molecule Detection with Optoplasmonic Sensors -  Prof. Frank Vollmer

Abstract

Single-molecule techniques continue to transform imaging, biophysics and, more recently, optical sensing. I will introduce a new class of label-free micro and nanosensors that are
starting to emerge and that allow us to observe dynamic processes at the single molecule level directly with light, with unprecedented spatial- and temporal resolution, and without significantly affecting the natural and functional movements of the molecules. This new class of sensors combine optically resonant dielectric microcavities with plasmonically resonant metal nanostructures to enable detection at the nanoscale with extraordinary sensitivity. These optoplasmonic sensors by virtue of their small interaction length probe light–matter interactions over a dynamic range often inaccessible by other optical techniques. They can be used to study dynamic processes that can span a range from less than 10−9s to more than 103s.

Label‐Free Optical Single‐Molecule Micro‐ and Nanosensors, S. Subramanian, H-Y. Wu, T. Constant,
J. Xavier & F. Vollmer, Adv. Mat. (2018), https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201801246

More information
Prof. Frank Vollmer, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Living Systems Institute, University of
Exeter, EX44QD, Exeter, UK