Surface plasmon polariton enhanced fluorescence from quantum dots on nanostructured metal surfaces

We experimentally demonstrate the enhancement of fluorescence from quantum dots excited by interaction with surface plasmon polaritons on nanostructured metal surfaces. The relationship between observed enhancement and geometrical factors of the surface structure has been used to explore the behavior of quantum dots on different substrates. Imaging using standard fluorescence optical microscopy clearly demonstrates a strong dependence of fluorescence enhancement on fundamental parameters for periodic surface structures.