Angular distribution of fluorescence from liquids and monodispersed spheres by evanescent wave excitation.

Experimental data on the angular distribution of fluorescence from thick liquid dye layers excited by evanescent waves are found to agree well with Fresnel theory and with an effective thickness formulation. Qualitative agreement of theory with fluorescence data obtained from monodispersed spherical particles having diameters comparable to the wavelength of the incident evanescent radiation and impregnated with dye molecules is also attained. From our results, the optimum incident and observation angles and polarizations to enhance the contrast and SNR for inelastic ATR reemission spectroscopy applied to studying micron or submicron layers of particulates can be predicted.