Single-defect spectroscopy in the shortwave infrared.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31209262.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-10788-8 and PMC identifier 6572808.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Chemical defects that fluoresce in the shortwave infrared open exciting opportunities in deep-penetration bioimaging, chemically specific sensing, and quantum technologies. However, the atomic size of defects and the high noise of infrared detectors have posed significant challenges to the studies of these unique emitters. Here we demonstrate high throughput single-defect spectroscopy in the shortwave infrared capable of quantitatively and spectrally resolving chemical defects at the single defect level. By cooling an InGaAs detector array down to -190 °C and implementing a nondestructive readout scheme, we are able to capture low light fluorescent events in the shortwave infrared with a signal-to-noise ratio improved by more than three orders-of-magnitude. As a demonstration, we show it is possible to resolve individual chemical defects in carbon nanotube semiconductors, simultaneously collecting a full spectrum for each defect within the entire field of view at the single defect limit.