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Science 27 October 2000:
Vol. 290. no. 5492, pp. 785 - 788
DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5492.785
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Reports

Förster Energy Transfer in an Optical Microcavity

Piers Andrew,* William L. Barnes

By studying the transfer of excitation energy between dye molecules confined within an optical microcavity, we demonstrate experimentally that Förster energy transfer is influenced by the local photonic mode density. Locating donor and acceptor molecules at well-defined positions allows the transfer rate to be determined as a function of both mutual separation and cavity length. The results show that the Förster transfer rate depends linearly on the donor emission rate and hence photonic mode density, providing the potential to control energy transfer by modification of the optical environment.

Thin Film Photonics Group, School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QL, UK.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pandrew{at}exeter.ac.uk

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Energy Transfer Across a Metal Film Mediated by Surface Plasmon Polaritons.
P. Andrew and W. L. Barnes (2004)
Science 306, 1002-1005
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