Waveguide-Mode-Enhanced Molecular Fluorescence and Other Aspects of the Dipole-Surface Problem

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This research program investigates the physical origin of waveguide-mode-enhanced molecular fluorescence, a phenomenon first reported by the Principal Investigator and one of his former Ph.D. students (who jointly hold a patent on this process) in 1985. The patent has attracted the interest of the medical diagnostics industry. The term enhanced fluorescence refers to the substantial increase in the fluorescent signal emitted by a layer of molecules deposited onto a suitably prepared substrate compared to that from the same quantity of molecules deposited onto an unprepared substrate. In essence, a glass substrate can be dramatically improved as a substrate for molecular fluorescence by overcoating it with the proper combination of layers. Both optical scattering and optical waveguide modes contribute to the observed enhancement. The research attempts to develop a theoretical model of the enhancement process and to verify the predictions of the model through additional experiments. A proper quantitative description of the enhancement process will identify the optical properties of the sample that achieve the greatest enhancement. The proposed theoretical work applies to several other aspects of the dipole-surface problem important for optoelectronics, namely quantum-well vertical- cavity lasers and suppressed spontaneous emission. these problems are to be examined, but the primary emphasis of the research is waveguide-mode- enhanced molecular fluorescence.