Exploiting Optical Asymmetry for Controlled Guiding of Particles with Light
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Soljacic_Exploiting optical.pdf
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Author(s)
Buljan, Hrvoje
Ilic, Ognjen
Kaminer, Ido Efraim
Lahini, Yoav
Soljacic, Marin
Date Issued
January 2016
Journal
ACS Photonics
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Citation
Ilic, Ognjen; Kaminer, Ido; Lahini, Yoav; Buljan, Hrvoje and Soljačić, Marin. “Exploiting Optical Asymmetry for Controlled Guiding of Particles with Light.” ACS Photonics 3, no. 2 (February 2016): 197–202. © 2016 American Chemical Society
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Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Conventional methods of manipulating particles with light, such as optical tweezers and optical tractor beams, rely on beam-shaping to realize complex electromagnetic field profiles and are thus sensitive to scattering. Here, we show that, by introducing tailored optical asymmetry in the particle, we can realize a novel guiding method that is controllable by the frequency of light, without regard to the direction or the shape of the light beam. With detailed stochastic simulations, we demonstrate guiding of a two-faced nanoparticle where the optically induced thermophoretic drift serves as the propulsion mechanism. Exploiting the difference in resonant absorption spectra of the two materials, we create a bidirectional local thermal gradient that is externally switchable. This is advantageous because the frequency of a light beam, unlike its shape or coherence, is preserved even in strongly scattering environments. Since this approach is insensitive to scattering and applicable to many particles at once, as well as particles that cannot be optically resolved, it may enable useful applications in biology, microfluidics, in vivo tasks, and colloidal science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.5b00605
