Fluorescence from a single-molecule probe directly attached to a plasmonic STM tip

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) provides access to atomic-scale properties of a conductive sample. While single-molecule tip functionalization has become a standard procedure, fluorescent molecular probes remained absent from the available tool set. Here, the plasmonic tip of an STM is functionalized with a single fluorescent molecule and is scanned on a plasmonic substrate. The tunneling current flowing through the tip-molecule-substrate junction generates a narrow-line emission of light corresponding to the fluorescence of the negatively charged molecule suspended at the apex of the tip, i.e., the emission of the excited molecular anion. The fluorescence of this molecular probe is recorded for tip-substrate nanocavities featuring different plasmonic resonances, for different tip-substrate distances and applied bias voltages, and on different substrates. We demonstrate that the width of the emission peak can be used as a probe of the exciton-plasmon coupling strength and that the energy of the emitted photons is governed by the molecule interactions with its environment. Additionally, we theoretically elucidate why the direct contact of the suspended molecule with the metallic tip does not totally quench the radiative emission of the molecule.