Tracking the Coupling of Single Emitters to Plasmonic Nanoantennas with Single-Molecule Super-Resolution Imaging

Metal nanoantennas enable the manipulation of light emission and detection at the single photon level by confining light into very small volumes. Emitters coupled to these plasmonic structures are thus ideal candidates for usage in quantum information technology. However, controllably and reproducibly placing quantum emitters into nanocavities has been challenging due to the sizes of the systems involved. Here, we investigate the trapping dynamics of single emitters into nanocavities via optical gradient forces by using single-molecule super-resolution imaging and tracking. We show that molecules trapped in the nanogaps of bowtie antennas have increased photostability and track lengths compared to molecules farther away from the structure. For resonant antennas, these effects are magnified compared to the off-resonant case due to stronger optical trapping effects. These results open the way to using plasmonic optical trapping to reliably couple single emitters to single nanoantennas, enabling further studies of these coupled systems.

Automated summary

Metal nanoantennas can manipulate light emission and detection at the single photon level by confining light into small volumes. By using optical gradient forces, this study successfully traps single emitters into nanocavities, showing improved photostability and track lengths compared to emitters farther away from the structure, especially for resonant antennas. These results pave the way for reliable coupling of single emitters to single nanoantennas using plasmonic optical trapping.