Erlangen 2022 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 15: Poster 2

MO 15.23: Poster

Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 16:30–18:30, P

Optical Imaging and Tracking of Single Molecules in Ultrahigh Vacuum — •Tianyu Fang, Florian Elsen, Nick Vogeley, and Daqing Wang — Institute of Physics, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Straße 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany

Molecule-surface interaction is key to many physical and chemical processes at interfaces. Here, we show that the dynamics of single molecules on a surface under ultrahigh vacuum can be resolved using fluorescence imaging. By adapting oil-immersion microscopy to a thin vacuum window, we measure the surface adsorption and translational and rotational diffusion of single perylene molecules on a fused silica surface with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Time-dependent measurements of the fluorescence signal allow us to deduce two characteristic decay time scales, which can be explained through a simplified model involving two adsorption states and five energy levels. The system presented in this work combines fluorescence imaging with essential ingredients for surface science and promises a platform for probing single-molecule--surface interactions in highly defined conditions.