Long-Range Plasmon Assisted Energy Transfer Between Fluorescent Emitters

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates long-range energy transfer between fluorescent emitters facilitated by surface plasmon polaritons on a silver film, significantly exceeding previous transfer distances due to strong confinement and propagation properties.

Contribution

It introduces a method for plasmon-assisted energy transfer over unprecedented distances, expanding potential applications in nanophotonics and quantum information.

Findings

Energy transfer distance up to 7 micrometers

Excellent agreement with theoretical models

Enhanced transfer range compared to prior reports

Abstract

We demonstrate plasmon assisted energy transfer between fluorophores located at distances up to $7 \, \mu$m on the top of a thin silver film. Thanks to the strong confinement and large propagation length of surface plasmon polaritons, the range of the energy transfer is almost two orders of magnitude larger than the values reported in the literature so far. The parameters driving the energy transfer range are thoroughly characterized and are in very good agreement with theoretically expected values.