• Photonic Sensors
  • Vol. 10, Issue 4, 364 (2020)
Muhammad Shemyal NISAR1, Yujun CUI1, Kaitong DANG1, Liyong JIANG2, and Xiangwei ZHAO1、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
  • 2Department of Physics, School of Science, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
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    DOI: 10.1007/s13320-020-0593-2 Cite this Article
    Muhammad Shemyal NISAR, Yujun CUI, Kaitong DANG, Liyong JIANG, Xiangwei ZHAO. Near-Field Spot for Localized Light-Excitation of a Single Fluorescent Molecule[J]. Photonic Sensors, 2020, 10(4): 364 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Zero-mode waveguides have become important tools for the detection of single molecules. There are still, however, serious challenges because large molecules need to be packed into nano-holes. To circumvent this problem, we investigate and numerically simulate a novel planar sub-wavelength 3-dimension (3D) structure, which is named as near-field spot. It enables the detection of a single molecule in highly concentrated solutions. The near-field spot can produce evanescent waves at the dielectric/water interface, which exponentially decay as they travel away from the dielectric/water interface. These evanescent waves are keys for the detection of fluorescently tagged single molecules. A numerical simulation of the proposed device shows that the performance is comparable with a zero-mode waveguide. Additional degrees-of-freedom, however, can potentially supersede its performance.
    Muhammad Shemyal NISAR, Yujun CUI, Kaitong DANG, Liyong JIANG, Xiangwei ZHAO. Near-Field Spot for Localized Light-Excitation of a Single Fluorescent Molecule[J]. Photonic Sensors, 2020, 10(4): 364
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