Controlling the angular emission of a single molecule

Summary form only given. A single fluorescent molecule in an isotropic medium acts as a dipole radiator. In a locally heterogeneous environment the angular emission pattern is modified. Recently Novotny (1996) calculated strongly peaked angular emission when the emitter is brought in close proximity to a strong dielectric-metal gradient. We believe we present the first direct observation of this prediction; moreover we show that manipulating the field gradient on a nanometric scale can control the emission direction. Single molecules are detected in near-field optical arrangement.