Exploring the limits of single emitter detection in fluorescence and extinction

Abstract

We present an experimental comparison and a theoretical analysis of the signal-to-noise ratios in fluorescence and extinction spectroscopy of a single emitter. We show that extinction measurements can be advantageous if the emitter is weakly excited. Furthermore, we discuss the potential of this method for the detection and spectroscopy of weakly emitting systems such as rare earth ions.

11 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Efficient coupling of photons to a single molecule and the observation of its resonance fluorescence
• Perfect Reflection of Light by an Oscillating Dipole
• Strong extinction of a laser beam by a single molecule
• Strong extinction of a far-field laser beam by a single quantum dot
• Scanning Near-Field Optical Coherent Spectroscopy of Single Molecules at 1.4 Kelvin
• Extinction imaging of a single quantum emitter in its bright and dark states

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Single-photon spectroscopy of a single molecule
• Few-photon coherent nonlinear optics with a single molecule
• Metal nanoparticles in strongly confined beams: transmission, reflection and absorption
• Extinction of Light and Coherent Scattering by a Single Nitrogen-Vacancy Center in Diamond
• Organic molecules as single-photon sources