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Dr. Tobias Utikal

  • Wissenschaftlicher Referent (Research Coordinator)
  • Room: A.3.232
  • Telephone: +49 9131 7133316
  • E-mail

My research interest ranges from cryogenic Nano-Quantum-Optics with single emitters to Nano-Bio-Photonics using iSCAT microscopy. As research coordinator of the division I am involved in many research projects pushing the experiments forward, coordinating resources, and preserving the knowledge in the group. In various exploratory side-projects I am breaking new ground for future experiments.

I am always interested in the latest technology developments of narrow-band lasers, cryogenics, nano-positioning, microscopy at and beyond the diffraction limit, single photon detectors, and scientific cameras.

2016

Few-photon coherent nonlinear optics with a single molecule

Andreas Maser, Benjamin Gmeiner, Tobias Utikal, Stephan Goetzinger, Vahid Sandoghdar

Nature Photonics 10 450-453 (2016) | Journal

The pioneering experiments in linear spectroscopy were performed using flames in the 1800s, but nonlinear optical measurements had to wait until lasers became available in the twentieth century. Because the nonlinear cross-section of materials is very small(1,2), macroscopic bulk samples and pulsed lasers are usually used. Numerous efforts have explored coherent nonlinear signal generation from individual nanoparticles(3-5) or small atomic ensembles(6-8) with millions of atoms. Experiments on a single semiconductor quantum dot have also been reported, albeit with a very small yield(9). Here, we report the coherent nonlinear spectroscopy of a single molecule under continuous-wave single-pass illumination and the switching of a laser beam by on the order of ten pump photons. The sharp molecular transitions and efficient photon-molecule coupling at a tight focus(10) allow for optical switching with less than a handful of pump photons and are thus promising for applications in quantum engineering(11).

Spectroscopy and microscopy of single molecules in nanoscopic channels: spectral behavior vs. confinement depth

Benjamin Gmeiner, Andreas Maser, Tobias Utikal, Stephan Goetzinger, Vahid Sandoghdar

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 18 19588-19594 (2016) | Journal

We perform high-resolution spectroscopy and localization microscopy to study single dye molecules confined to nanoscopic dimensions in one direction. We provide the fabrication details of our nanoscopic glass channels and the procedure for filling them with organic matrices. Optical data on hundreds of molecules in different channel depths show a clear trend from narrow stable lines in deep channels to broader linewidths in ultrathin matrices. In addition, we observe a steady blue shift of the center of the inhomogeneous band as the channels become thinner. Furthermore, we use super-resolution localization microscopy to correlate the positions and orientations of the individual dye molecules with the lateral landscape of the organic matrix, including cracks and strain-induced dislocations. Our results and methodology are useful for a number of studies in various fields such as physical chemistry, solid-state spectroscopy, and quantum nano-optics.

Tobias Utikal studied Physics at University of Bonn from 2001 to 2007. For his Diploma thesis on “Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Metallic Photonic Crystals” he moved to University of Stuttgart where he worked in the group of Prof. Harald Giessen. The following PhD thesis on “Ultrafast Nonlinear Spectroscopy of Hybrid Plasmonic Systems” he partially conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart. In 2011 he joined the Group of Prof. Vahid Sandoghdar at ETH Zurich as a postdoc. After the move of the group to the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) in Erlangen he became a permanent senior scientist and is acting as research coordinator of the division. In his function as safety officer he is member of the work safety council of the institute. Tobias has been elected as the scientific staff representative of MPL from 2015 – 2021.

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