Breaking the diffraction limit in absorption spectroscopy using upconverting nanoparticles

Abstract

We employ a single optically trapped upconverting nanoparticle (UCNP) of NaYF₄:Yb,Er of diameter about 100 nm as a subdiffractive source to perform absorption spectroscopy. The experimentally expected mode volume of 100 nm of the backscatter profile of the nanoparticle matches well with a numerical simulation of the dominant backscattering modes to confirm our assertion of achieving a source dimension considerably lower than the diffraction limit set by the excitation wavelength of 975 nm for the UCNP. We perform absorption spectroscopy of several diverse entities such as the dye Rhodamine B in water, a thin gold film of thickness 30 nm, and crystalline soft oxometalates micro-patterned on a glass substrate using the UCNP as a source. The initial results lead to unambiguous utility of UCNPs as single nanoscopic sources for absorption spectroscopy of ultra-small sample volumes (femtolitres), and lead us to hypothesize a possible Resonance Energy Transfer mechanism between the UCNP and the molecules of the ambient medium, which may even lead to single molecule absorption spectroscopy applications.