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Autores principales: Dey, E., Elorza, M., Foss, F. W., Cadenas, J. J. Gomez, Jones, B. J. P.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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Acceso en línea:https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03903
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author Dey, E.
Elorza, M.
Foss, F. W.
Cadenas, J. J. Gomez
Jones, B. J. P.
author_facet Dey, E.
Elorza, M.
Foss, F. W.
Cadenas, J. J. Gomez
Jones, B. J. P.
contents Fluorescent molecules emit light in a dipole radiation pattern that can be used to infer their orientation through defocused fluorescence microscopy. Proper measurement of the orientation requires mathematical modeling of the radiation pattern expected for a dipole in the geometry of interest, and subsequent comparison against experimental data. We point out an ambiguity in common calculations of these patterns that appears to compromise orientation measurements for molecules that are especially near to dielectric surfaces. This results in a rotation of the measured emission dipole toward the surface for near-interface molecules, which can be mistaken for a preferentially horizontal orientation among the emitters. The proper treatment for on-surface emitters requires consideration of finite-sized current elements between two dielectric media, and we show that the theoretical ambiguity can be lifted via finite-element modeling. A prescription is provided for correcting measured orientations at arbitrary interfaces.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_03903
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Surface Orientation Ambiguity for Single Molecules at Dielectric Interfaces
Dey, E.
Elorza, M.
Foss, F. W.
Cadenas, J. J. Gomez
Jones, B. J. P.
Optics
Fluorescent molecules emit light in a dipole radiation pattern that can be used to infer their orientation through defocused fluorescence microscopy. Proper measurement of the orientation requires mathematical modeling of the radiation pattern expected for a dipole in the geometry of interest, and subsequent comparison against experimental data. We point out an ambiguity in common calculations of these patterns that appears to compromise orientation measurements for molecules that are especially near to dielectric surfaces. This results in a rotation of the measured emission dipole toward the surface for near-interface molecules, which can be mistaken for a preferentially horizontal orientation among the emitters. The proper treatment for on-surface emitters requires consideration of finite-sized current elements between two dielectric media, and we show that the theoretical ambiguity can be lifted via finite-element modeling. A prescription is provided for correcting measured orientations at arbitrary interfaces.
title The Surface Orientation Ambiguity for Single Molecules at Dielectric Interfaces
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.03903