Nanogap optical antennas to enhance FRET
/image%2F1383851%2F20150918%2Fob_813a42_figtoc-copieweb.jpg)
Confining light at a spatial scale comparable to the molecular size opens unexplored opportunities to enhance Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), which is a ubiquitous phenomenon governing the energy exchange at the nanoscale. In a recent Nano Letters article, we present a resonant nanogap antenna tailored for single molecule FRET enhancement.
Significance:
- We demonstrate up to 5x enhanced energy transfer in a resonant antenna by confining the electromagnetic energy into nanoscale dimensions, comparable in size to the FRET pair distances.
- We describe design rules to enhance the FRET rate with nanoantennas that pave the way towards the nanophotonic enhancement of FRET applications in photovoltaics, organic lighting sources and biosensing.