Radiative and non-radiative decay of a single molecule close to a metallic nanoparticle

✍ Scribed by R. Carminati; J.-J. Greffet; C. Henkel; J.M. Vigoureux

• Book ID: 104073236
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 205 KB
• Volume: 261
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0030-4018
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2005.12.009

✦ Synopsis

We study the spontaneous emission of a single emitter close to a metallic nanoparticle, with the aim to clarify the distance dependence of the radiative and non-radiative decay rates. We derive analytical formulas based on a dipole-dipole model, and show that the nonradiative decay rate follows a R À6 dependence at short distance, where R is the distance between the emitter and the center of the nanoparticle, as in Fo ¨rster's energy transfer. The distance dependence of the radiative decay rate is more subtle. It is chiefly dominated by a R À3 dependence, a R À6 dependence being visible at plasmon resonance. The latter is a consequence of radiative damping in the effective dipole polarizability of the nanoparticle. The different distance behavior of the radiative and non-radiative decay rates implies that the apparent quantum yield always vanishes at short distance. Moreover, non-radiative decay is strongly enhanced when the emitter radiates at the plasmon-resonance frequency of the nanoparticle.