Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 12: Scanning probe microscopy: light matter interaction at atomic scales
O 12.6: Talk
Monday, March 9, 2026, 16:15–16:30, HSZ/0403
Tuning Molecular Light Emission Through Atomic-scale Control of the Local Environment — •Thiago G. L. Brito1, Daniel Arribas1, Sofia Canola2, Klaus Kuhnke1, Tomáš Neuman2, and Anna Rosławska1 — 1Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Heisenbergstr. 1, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany — 2Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, 16200 Prague, Czech Republic
Intermolecular distances, adsorption sites, and configurations define a molecule's local environment, but their combined effect on single-molecule emission across different excitation pathways remains unclear. In this study, we measure the singlet emission of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) on NaCl/Ag(111) and introduce platinum phthalocyanine (PtPc) as both a controlled perturbation of the local environment and a probe of ZnPc emission via resonant energy transfer (RET). All measurements were performed using scanning tunneling microscopy induced luminescence (STML) and tip-enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL). By systematically tuning intermolecular distances, restricting molecular rotational motion, and comparing direct electrical excitation with RET-driven and photon excitations, we reveal previously inaccessible regimes of ZnPc singlet emission, including neutral exciton-libron coupling. We further disentangle the environmental factors that influence emission spectra, demonstrating how the local environment actively shapes the optical response of single molecules.
Keywords: Single molecule; Luminescence; Phthalocyanines; STML; TEPL