Abstract
THE introduction of optical detection methods for observing magnetic resonance transitions in metastable paramagnetic states1–4 has contributed enormously to our understanding of the properties of photoexcited molecules in condensed phases. In such experiments the luminescence intensity is recorded as a function of the frequency of an applied microwave field. At resonance with transitions between sublevels of a metastable paramagnetic state, the lifetime of the metastable state is altered and a consequent change in the luminescence intensity is observed. Here we report the observation of such optically detected magnetic resonance transitions for the triplet state of a single pentacene molecule embedded in a p-terphenyl host crystal. This result has been obtained by combining the conventional optical detection technique for observing magnetic resonance transitions1–4 with the new single-molecule optical detection methods developed recently5,6. This observation opens the way for magnetic resonance studies in condensed phases with single-molecule sensitivity.
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Köhler, J., Disselhorst, J., Donckers, M. et al. Magnetic resonance of a single molecular spin. Nature 363, 242–244 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/363242a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/363242a0
