OPTICAL DETECTION AND SPECTROSCOPY OF SINGLE MOLECULES IN SOLIDS

Abstract

Optical detection and spectroscopy of single ions in vacuum confined in electromagnetic traps1 has led to novel measurements that test our understanding of quantum physics. The detection and spectroscopy of a single absorber in a solid (single-molecule detection, or SMD) would provide a useful tool for the study of local host-absorber interactions where the absorbing center is at rest, confined by the host lattice, and where the norn1al averaging over many "equivalent" centers is removed. © 1989 Optical Society of America