Single-molecule study for a graphene-based nanoposition sensor

In this study we lay the groundwork for a graphene-based fundamental ruler at the nanoscale. It relies on the efficient energy-transfer mechanism between single quantum emitters and low-doped graphene monolayers. Our experiments, conducted with dibenzoterrylene (DBT) molecules, allow going beyond ensemble analysis due to the emitter photo-stability and brightness. A quantitative characterization of the fluorescence decayrate modification is presented and compared to a simple model, showing agreement with the d(-4) dependence, a genuine manifestation of a dipole interacting with a 2D material. With DBT molecules, we can estimate a potential uncertainty in position measurements as low as 5 nm in the range below 30 nm.