Nanophotonic Control of the Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Efficiency

Christian Blum, Niels Zijlstra, Ad Lagendijk, Martijn Wubs, Allard P. Mosk, Vinod Subramaniam, Willem L. Vos

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    Abstract

    We have studied the influence of the local density of optical states (LDOS) on the rate and efficiency of Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from a donor to an acceptor. The donors and acceptors are dye molecules that are separated by a short strand of double-stranded DNA. The LDOS is controlled by carefully positioning the FRET pairs near a mirror. We find that the energy transfer efficiency changes with LDOS, and that, in agreement with theory, the energy transfer rate is independent of the LDOS, which allows one to quantitatively control FRET systems in a new way. Our results imply a change in the characteristic Forster distance, in contrast to common lore that this distance is fixed for a given FRET pair.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalPhysical Review Letters
    Volume109
    Issue number20
    Pages (from-to)203601
    Number of pages5
    ISSN0031-9007
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright (2012) American Physical Society.

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