Observation of Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission using Thin Platinum Films

Surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) is the directional radiation of light into a glass substrate due to excited fluorophores above a thin metal film. The sharp angular distribution of SPCE is a striking phenomenon and is in stark contrast with the isotropic fluorescence emission. In this paper, we show that SPCE can occur with thin platinum films at green and red wavelengths and was found to be mostly p-polarized. This SPCE emission is the result of near-field interactions of the excited fluorophores with the thin platinum film, and is not simply a reflective or transmissive phenomenon. Our preliminary observation suggests that platinum nanostructures can be part of several novel bio-analysis surfaces.