Experimental Quantum Optics with Photonic Crystals: Nanoscopic emitters as probes in a structured dielectric environment

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In this proposal we want to exploit the potential of an optical tweezer as a tool for nano-manipulation of active particles coupled to photonic crystal structures. An optical tweezer is created in a homemade beam-scan confocal microscope. As active particles we use colloidal particles coated with semiconductor nanocrystals which emit in the near-infrared. The particles are trapped in solution close to the surface of photonic crystal structures which will be provided by our collaborators. Coupling to resonant defects and modifications of the luminescence properties are studied in detail. A second more fundamental research topic of this proposal generalizes the investigation of periodic dielectric structures, such as photonic crystals, to arbitrary, but still controlled dielectric structures. We plan to use multiple optical tweezers to trap and manipulate dielectric particles. In this way an arbitrary strutured dielectric environment which consists of few well controllable constituents can be created. We. plan to study the optical properties of such structures, as well as their effect on the local density of states of the electromagnetic field. Similar as in the first research topic the latter can be explored with the help of nanoscopic active probe-particles placed inside these structures.