0000000000280143
AUTHOR
F. Kulzer
Single-molecule optical switching of terrylene in p-terphenyl
The controlled manipulation and switching of single atoms and molecules raise the prospect of ultra-high-density data storage. Switching by motion of a single atom has been reported1, and techniques of single-molecule optical detection and spectroscopy2 in the condensed phase have been refined to a degree that allows the modification of the absorption properties of a single chromophore3. Light-induced jumps in single-molecule excitation frequencies have been reported3,4,5, but in none of these cases could the process be controlled: the jumps varied from molecule to molecule, they were interrupted by spontaneous jumps, and the new excitation frequencies could not be identified unambiguously.…
Terrylene in p-terphenyl: single-molecule experiments at room temperature
Abstract This paper reports on fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy of single terrylene molecules embedded in p -terphenyl at room temperature. The basic photophysical parameters of this crystalline host/guest system such as photostability, single-molecule emission rates and the properties of dispersed fluorescence spectra are reported. The stability of the single-molecule signals allowed the direct observation of singlet–triplet quantum jumps at room temperature, by means of which the underlying intersystem crossing rates can be investigated. The results of earlier investigations at liquid-helium temperatures are reviewed briefly where appropriate. The properties of terrylene in p -ter…