Stimulation Emission Depleted Photoacoustic

We demonstrate that the Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) concept, which is usually invoked for fluorescence, can be extended to photoacoustic effects. When two-nanosecond pulses of exciting and stimulating light are synchronized, 80% of the acoustic signal generated through excited state absorption (ESA) can be quenched. Regarding the cross-sections for stimulated emission and ESA, a model gives a good order of magnitude in the depletion efficiency. The transient molecular orientation, usually measured via the fluorescence anisotropy, can be accessed in photoacoustic when STED is implemented.