title: Nanoscale probing of image-dipole interactions in a metallic nanostructure.
abstract: An emitter near a surface induces an image dipole that can modify the observed emission intensity and radiation pattern. These image-dipole effects are generally not taken into account in single-emitter tracking and super-resolved imaging applications. Here we show that the interference between an emitter and its image dipole induces a strong polarization anisotropy and a large spatial displacement of the observed emission pattern. We demonstrate these effects by tracking the emission of a single quantum dot along two orthogonal polarizations as it is deterministically positioned near a silver nanowire. The two orthogonally polarized diffraction spots can be displaced by up to 50 nm, which arises from a Young's interference effect between the quantum dot and its induced image dipole. We show that the observed spatially varying interference fringe provides a useful measure for correcting image-dipole-induced distortions. These results provide a pathway towards probing and correcting image-dipole effects in near-field imaging applications.
authors: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors: Chad
authors: C
authors: Ropp
authors: Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors: Zachary
authors: Z
authors: Cummins
authors: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors: Sanghee
authors: S
authors: Nah
authors: 1] Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA [2] Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors: John T
authors: JT
authors: Fourkas
authors: Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors: Benjamin
authors: B
authors: Shapiro
authors: 1] Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA [2] Joint Quantum Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors: Edo
authors: E
authors: Waks