title: Surface plasmon radiation forces.
abstract: We report the first experimental observation of momentum transfer from a surface plasmon to a single dielectric sphere. Using a photonic force microscope, we measure the plasmon radiation forces on different polystyrene beads as a function of their distance from the metal surface. We show that the force magnitude at resonance is strongly enhanced compared to a nonresonant illumination. Measurements performed as a function of the probe particle size indicate that optical manipulation by plasmon fields has a strong potential for optical sorting.
authors.affiliation: ICFO -- Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quidant
authors.forename: Gonçal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Badenes
authors.forename: Dmitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Petrov
mesh_terms: D004735:Energy Transfer / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*