Stimulated emission on microscopic scale: Light quenching of Pyridine 2 using a Ti:sapphire laser

Summary We report the realization of stimulated emission on a microscopic scale. An experiment is presented describing significant depopulation of the excited state of the fluorophore Pyridine 2 with a mode-locked Ti: Sapphire laser. Stimulated emission is performed at 750 nm and excitation at the frequency doubled wavelength of 375 nm. The pulses are synchronized so that the stimulating pulse follows the excitation pulse after 5 ps. The set-up is a modified 4Pi-confocal microscope employing one of the objective lenses for excitation and the opposing one for stimulated emission.