Enhanced and selective optical trapping in a slot-graphite photonic crystal.
Applicability of optical trapping tools for nanomanipulation is limited by the available laser power and trap efficiency. We utilized the strong confinement of light in a slot-graphite photonic crystal to develop high-efficiency parallel trapping over a large area. The stiffness is 35 times higher than our previously demonstrated on-chip, near field traps. We demonstrate the ability to trap both dielectric and metallic particles of sub-micron size. We find that the growth kinetics of nanoparticle arrays on the slot-graphite template depends on particle size. This difference is exploited to selectively trap one type of particle out of a binary colloidal mixture, creating an efficient optical sieve. This technique has rich potential for analysis, diagnostics, and enrichment and sorting of microscopic entities.
Aravind
A
Krishnan
Ningfeng
N
Huang
Shao-Hua
SH
Wu
Luis Javier
LJ
Martínez
Michelle L
ML
Povinelli