Polarization induced control of single and two-photon fluorescence.

Modulation of two-photon absorption, two-photon fluorescence (TPF), as well as single-photon fluorescence (SPF), is shown through incident laser polarization for different fluorescent dyes. TPF intensity increases as the polarization changes from circular to linear irrespective of the dye, though the intensity and wavelength dependent studies of two-photon polarization ratio for any particular dye (e.g., Rhodamine 6G) reveal the nature of their excited state. SPF intensity of IR125 and IR144 dyes increases as the polarization changes from linear to circular. Thus, polarization studies indicate that in case of TPF, there is a preference toward the linear component while in case of SPF, the preference is toward the circular component of the incident laser beam.