Our lab performs optical spectroscopy at the highest level of sensitivity. The applied techniques allow us to detect single photons emitted from individual molecules. Depending on the underlying project, these photons are resolved spectrally, with respect to their polarization or temporal – usually in the picosecond to the second time domain. The latter method gives insight into fluorescence lifetime (the time a molecule spends in excited state) or photon correlations (e.g. dynamics of single-molecule emission or photon anti-bunching).
The applications of these sensitive tools in our lab are versatile and reach from investigations of fundamental aspects of single emitter photophysics over energy transfer between individual molecules (eg as a nanoscopic ruler for molecular dynamics and coupling) to interactions between dye molecules and plasmonic nanostructures or DNA origami structures.
