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.
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Acknowledgment
We acknowledge the support of Southeast University for carrying out this research. This work was financially supported by Southeast University Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant program, China (Grant No. 2242018R20013), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFA0205700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61850410528), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Fundamental Research Project of Shenzhen Science & Technology Innovation Committee (Grant No. JCYJ20180306174552939).
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Nisar, M.S., Cui, Y., Dang, K. et al. Near-Field Spot for Localized Light-Excitation of a Single Fluorescent Molecule. Photonic Sens 10, 364–374 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-020-0593-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-020-0593-2