Prof. Alexi V. Sokolov
Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Stephen E. Harris Professor of Quantum Optics
Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX, USA
Laser-spectroscopic tools for quantum sensing in nano-biophotonics
Biophotonics is a vibrant interdisciplinary field exploring the interaction between light and biological materials such as sub-cellular structures and molecules in living organisms. Biophotonics research leads to applications in agriculture & life sciences and produces tools for medical diagnostics and therapies. Within this broad field, we have recently made advances in ultrasensitive Raman-spectroscopic probing of various biosamples. Our approach is based on laser spectroscopy aided by plasmonic nanoantennas, as in tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). An additional enhancement in sensitivity and speed is obtained by employing quantum molecular coherence and utilizing the femtosecond adaptive spectroscopic technique (FAST) for coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS). The combined approach allows nondestructive label-free biosensing with molecular-level sensitivity and with spatial resolution down to a fraction of a nanometer.