Nanometer-scale Fluorescence Resonance Optical Waveguides

Abstract

The telecommunications revolution has created a strong motivation to build photonic devices of ever smaller size and higher density. Using photosynthetic structures found in nature as an inspiration, we synthesized artificial structures that act like diffusive waveguides. These waveguides use FRET to transport energy, and we demonstrated the idea with 3- and 5-fluorophore structures which utilize DNA as a scaffold. A quantitative model that explains the results and provides the mechanism behind the energy transfer is also presented.

Large enhancement of Förster resonance energy transfer on graphene platforms

“…The Förster resonant-energy transfer (FRET) itself is widely used in biochemistry to study protein and RNA folding [8], DNA nanomechanical devices [9] and even to transport energy along a DNA backbone [10] to mention a few applications. Theoretically it was already shown in the 80's that in the vicinity of nanoparticles FRET between a donor and an acceptor molecule can be enhanced by two to five orders of magnitude in the idealized case when both the donor and acceptor are in resonance with the localized plasmon resonance [11,12].…”

Nanoscale waveguiding methods

“…3 are nominally restricted to index and bandgap manipulation for optical propagation, it is useful to note that a molecular scale waveguide has been proposed and experimentally verified [27]. Representing a bottom-up approach, transfer of photons through a DNA scaffold using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) whereby photons are absorbed at higher energy and re-emitted at a longer wavelength in a chain reaction along the DNA length.…”

Enhancement of DNA-mediated Energy Transfer from Ethidium to meso-Tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin by Ca2+Ion

“…17 Its applications range from investigating the conformational changes of nucleic acids, studying their dynamics within biological processes [18][19][20] and to nanotechnology. [21][22][23] These photochemical processes generally involve non-radiative transfer of electronic excitation from an excited donor molecule to a ground state acceptor molecule on time scales of femtoseconds to milliseconds over distances ranging from a few Å to approximately 100 Å. Föster type resonance energy transfer occurs for allowed singlet-singlet transitions if there is significant overlap between the donor molecule's emission and an acceptor molecule's absorption spectra. The critical transfer radii of such transition range from 10 to 100 Å.…”