Papers by Keyword: Maxwell Stress Tensor

Abstract: By employing a generalization of the conservation law for momentum using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, the feasibility of using a near-field optical fibre probe to create near-field optical trapping is investigated. Numerical results indicate that the scheme is able to trap nanoparticles with diameters of tens of nanometres in a circular shape with lower laser intensity. Using the built system with a tapered metal-coated fibre probe, 120 nm polystyrene particles are trapped in a multi-circular shape with a minimum size of 400 nm. They are at a resolution of λ/7 (λ: laser wavelength) and d (d: tip diameter of fiber probe), respectively.

Abstract: New forms of trapping force are proposed for the design of near-field optical tweezers. Without the limitation of dipole approximation, the trapping force acting on a nano-particle located in near-field region can be solved by direct calculation of Maxwell stress tensor using 3D FDTD method. The new forms are used to design near-field optical trapping with a metal-coated fiber probe. Calculations show that the fiber probe can trap a nano-particle with tens of nanometres diameter to different positions with different distance from the probe tip. In order to achieve higher trapping capability, the feasibility of near-field trapping near the optical fiber probe after adding the AFM metallic probe is shown by analyzing trapping forces along three axis directions. The correctness of new forms is demonstrated by numerical results.

Abstract: By applying the direct calculation of Maxwell stress tensor using three-dimensional finite difference time domain method, the feasibility of using a metal-coated fiber probe to create near-field optical tweezers is investigated. Numerical results indicate that these schemes are able to trap nano-particles with lower laser intensity than that required by conventional optical tweezers. The near-field optical trapping systems that are more flexible than conventional optical tweezers are built. In experiments, 120-nm polystyrene particles are trapped in a multi-circular shape with a minimum size of 400 nm. The realization of trapping particles in the range of tens of nanometers largely promotes the role of near-field optical manipulation at the nanometer scale.

Abstract: In recent years, optical manipulators based on forces exerted by enhanced evanescent field close to near-field optical probes have provided the access to nonintrusive manipulation of nanometric particles. However, the manipulation capability is restricted to the intensity enhancement of the probe tip due to low emitting efficiency. Here a near-field optical trapping scheme using the combination of an optical fiber probe and an AFM metallic probe is developed theoretically. Calculations are made to analyze the field distributions including tip interaction and the trapping forces in the near-field region by applying a direct calculation of Maxwell stress tensor using three-dimensional FDTD. The results show that the scheme is able to trap particle at the nanoscale with lower laser intensity than that required by conventional near-field optical tweezers.