Nanometer-scale Fluorescence Resonance Optical Waveguides

The telecommunications revolution has created a strong motivation to build photonic devices of ever smaller size and higher density. Using photosynthetic structures found in nature as an inspiration, we synthesized artificial structures that act like diffusive waveguides. These waveguides use FRET to transport energy, and we demonstrated the idea with 3- and 5-fluorophore structures which utilize DNA as a scaffold. A quantitative model that explains the results and provides the mechanism behind the energy transfer is also presented.