No abstract

We study single dibenzoterrylene molecules in an anthracene single crystal at 1.4 K in two insertion sites at 785.1 and 794.3 nm. The single-molecule zero-phonon lines are narrow (about 30 MHz), intense (the detected fluorescence rates at saturation reach 100,000 counts s(-1)), and very photostable. The intersystem-crossing yield is extremely low (10(-7) or lower). All of these features are hallmarks of an excellent system for high-resolution spectroscopy and nanoscale probing at cryogenic temperatures.

We observe fluorescence excitation lines of single terrylene molecules in three new polymer matrices (polyvinylbutyral, polymethylmethacrylate, and polystyrene) and in two crystals, n-hexadecane (polycrystalline Shpol’skii matrix) and anthracene single crystal. We also burn persistent spectral holes in bulk samples of these solutions for comparison to single molecule lines. In all matrices where hole burning is efficient enough, we find good agreement between the average width determined from the distribution of single molecules’ linewidths and the homogeneous width deduced from spectral holes, which demonstrates the consistency and complementarity of the two techniques.