Excitation of a single molecule on the surface of a spherical microcavity

We use the optical resonance of a spherical microcavity (quality factor similar to 10(6)) to excite a single molecule. By attaching a p-terphenyl crystal doped with pentacene and terrylene molecules to a dielectric sphere, we detect individual molecules excited by the near held of the cavity. A low-temperature optical microscope is utilized to image the emission from the single molecule, determine its position on the sphere surface, and measure its absorption linewidth. These results demonstrate the feasibility of single-molecule cavity quantum electrodynamics. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.