Fluorescence enhancement of quantum emitters with different energy systems near a single spherical metal nanoparticle.

We present a theoretical study of the influence of a single spherical metal nanoparticle (MNP) on the fluorescence intensity of nearby emitters with two-level and multi-level energy systems. The enhancement factors of the excitation and relaxation processes are deduced. To reveal the interrelationship between the excitation and relaxation processes we adopt the rate equations of two-level fluorescent systems and upconversion fluorescent systems, and deduce the expression for the fluorescence enhancement factor. Our calculated results for the two-level systems agree well with reported experimental data. As to the upconversion fluorescent systems, our numerical results provide the first theoretical prediction showing that the MNP may selectively enhance a certain fluorescence process among various ones. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America