Samuel Gresillon

Surface enhanced fluorescence

Fluorescence is widely used in optical devices, microscopy imaging, biology, medical research and diagnosis. Improving fluorescence sensitivity, all the way to the limit of single-molecular detection needed in many applications, remains a great challenge. The technique of surface enhanced fluorescence (SEF) is based upon the design of surfaces in the vicinity of the emitter. SEF yields an overall improvement in the fluorescence detection efficiency through modification and control of the local electromagnetic environment of the emitter. Near-field coupling between the emitter and surface modes plays a crucial role in SEF. In particular, plasmonic surfaces with localized and propagating surface plasmons are efficient SEF substrates. Recent progress in tailoring surfaces at the nanometre scale extends greatly the realm of SEF applications. This review focuses on the recent advances in the different mechanisms involved in SEF, in each case highlighting the most relevant applications.

Enhanced localized fluorescence in plasmonic nanoantennae

Pairs of gold elliptical nanoparticles form antennae, resonant in the visible. A dye, embedded in a dielectric host, coats the antennae; its emission excites plasmon resonances in the antennae and is enhanced. Far-field excitation of the dye-nanoantenna system shows a wavelength-dependent increase in fluorescence that reaches 100 times enhancement. Near-field excitation shows enhanced fluorescence from a single nanoantenna localized in a subwavelength area of ∼0.15μm2. The polarization of enhanced emission is along the main antenna axis. These observed experimental results are important for increasing light extraction from emitters localized around antennae and for potential development of a subwavelength sized laser.

Polarization effects in apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy: an experimental study.

Strong electric-field enhancements at the apex of a tungsten tip illuminated by an external light source were recently predicted theoretically. We present an experimental study of the dependence of this effect on the polarization angle of the incident light. It is shown that the intensity of the light scattered by the tungsten tip of an apertureless scanning near-field optical microscope is 2 orders of magnitude higher when the incident light is p polarized than when it is s polarized. This experimental result is in good agreement with theoretical predictions and provides an easy way to test the quality of the tips.

Near-field excitation of nanoantenna resonance

An array of paired elliptic nanoparticles designed to enhance local fields around the particle pair is fabricated with gold embedded in quartz. Light excites a coupled plasmon resonance in the particle pair and the system acts like a plasmonic nanoantenna providing an enhanced electromagnetic field. Near-field scanning optical microscopy and finite element modeling are used to study the local field effects of the nanoantenna system. Local illumination shows similar resonant properties as plane wave illumination: a strong, localized optical resonance for light polarized parallel to the main, center-to-center axis.

Direct determination of diffusion properties of random media from speckle contrast

We present a simple scheme to determine the diffusion properties of a thin slab of strongly scattering material by measuring the speckle contrast resulting from the transmission of a femtosecond pulse with controlled bandwidth. In contrast with previous methods, our scheme does not require time measurements nor interferometry. It is well adapted to the characterization of samples for pulse shaping, nonlinear excitation through scattering media, and biological imaging.

Transmission-mode apertureless near-field microscope: optical and magneto-optical studies

A new near-field optical microscope working in transmission is presented. Lateral optical resolution less than 10 nm is obtained with a pure metallic probe. Polarization images of a metallic step confirmed the good resolution by comparison with an analytical model. We also demonstrate the capability of the microscope to obtain images with polarization effects. The good resolution is used for the observation of small gold aggregates which confirm that this microscope is able to make spectroscopic measurements of the optical effect induced by a nanometric scale particle. The polarization sensibility allows us to measure near-field magneto-optical contrast on a multi-layer sample with magnetic domains. These results are promising for magneto-optical characterization with nanometre resolution.

Spatiotemporal Coherent Control of Light through a Multiple Scattering Medium with the Multispectral Transmission Matrix.

We report the broadband characterization of the propagation of light through a multiple scattering medium by means of its multispectral transmission matrix. Using a single spatial light modulator, our approach enables the full control of both the spatial and spectral properties of an ultrashort pulse transmitted through the medium. We demonstrate spatiotemporal focusing of the pulse at any arbitrary position and time with any desired spectral shape. Our approach opens new perspectives for fundamental studies of light-matter interaction in disordered media, and has potential applications in sensing, coherent control, and imaging.

Deterministic control of broadband light through a multiply scattering medium via the multispectral transmission matrix.

We present a method to measure the spectrally-resolved transmission matrix of a multiply scattering medium, thus allowing for the deterministic spatiospectral control of a broadband light source by means of wavefront shaping. As a demonstration, we show how the medium can be used to selectively focus one or many spectral components of a femtosecond pulse, and how it can be turned into a controllable dispersive optical element to spatially separate different spectral components to arbitrary positions.

THz emission microscopy with sub-wavelength broadband source.

A versatile THz/IR near field microscope is demonstrated. Collecting the scattered light from a THz in-situ subwavelength source, this microscope provides images with resolution better than lambda/10. The physical origin of the contrast is explained by a Mie scattering diffraction model. Owing to the classical nature of this microscope working in the near field, resolution of THz/IR images is improved using deconvolution process.

Nanometer scale apertureless near field microscopy

It is necessary to use the information contained in the near field to get sub-wavelength details in optical imaging which are not revealed through the far-field image. We have designed and built various setups able to perform near-field measurements in the UV, visible and IR, both in transmission, reflection and dark field with a resolution of 10 nm, independent of the wavelength but related to the tip size. Images revealing local dielectric contrasts, small particle effects, as well as local field enhancements in random structures, are shown.