scholarly journals Near‐Field Optical Tweezers for Chemistry and Biology

2020 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
pp. 2070010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Hu ◽  
Zi-wei Liao ◽  
Lu Cai ◽  
Xiao-xiao Jiang
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodoros D. Bouloumis ◽  
Síle Nic Chormaic

Optical tweezers are a very well-established technique that have developed into a standard tool for trapping and manipulating micron and submicron particles with great success in the last decades. Although the nature of light enforces restrictions on the minimum particle size that can be efficiently trapped due to Abbe’s diffraction limit, scientists have managed to overcome this problem by engineering new devices that exploit near-field effects. Nowadays, metallic nanostructures can be fabricated which, under laser illumination, produce a secondary plasmonic field that does not suffer from the diffraction limit. This advance offers a great improvement in nanoparticle trapping, as it relaxes the trapping requirements compared to conventional optical tweezers although problems may arise due to thermal heating of the metallic nanostructures. This could hinder efficient trapping and damage the trapped object. In this work, we review the fundamentals of conventional optical tweezers, the so-called plasmonic tweezers, and related phenomena. Starting from the conception of the idea by Arthur Ashkin until recent improvements and applications, we present the principles of these techniques along with their limitations. Emphasis in this review is on the successive improvements of the techniques and the innovative aspects that have been devised to overcome some of the main challenges.


2019 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
pp. 1900604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Hu ◽  
Zi-wei Liao ◽  
Lu Cai ◽  
Xiao-xiao Jiang
Keyword(s):  

Optics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Berneschi ◽  
Andrea Barucci ◽  
Francesco Baldini ◽  
Franco Cosi ◽  
Franco Quercioli ◽  
...  

Optical fibre micro/nano tips (OFTs), defined here as tapered fibres with a waist diameter ranging from a few microns to tens of nanometres and different tip angles (i.e., from tens of degrees to fractions of degrees), represent extremely versatile tools that have attracted growing interest during these last decades in many areas of photonics. The field of applications can range from physical and chemical/biochemical sensing—also at the intracellular levels—to the development of near-field probes for microscope imaging (i.e., scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM)) and optical interrogation systems, up to optical devices for trapping and manipulating microparticles (i.e., optical tweezers). All these applications rely on the ability to fabricate OFTs, tailoring some of their features according to the requirements determined by the specific application. In this review, starting from a short overview of the main fabrication methods used for the realisation of these optical micro/nano structures, the focus will be concentrated on some of their intriguing applications such as the development of label-based chemical/biochemical sensors and the implementation of SNOM probes for interrogating optical devices, including whispering gallery mode microcavities.


2011 ◽  
Vol 188 ◽  
pp. 184-189
Author(s):  
Bing Hui Liu ◽  
Li Jun Yang ◽  
J. Tang ◽  
Yang Wang ◽  
Ju Long Yuan

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (07) ◽  
pp. 1950081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Yang ◽  
Kang Zhao

A series of nanowire-type plasmonic waveguides are proposed. The mode properties of these waveguides and their dependences on various geometry parameters are studied. It is shown that they can generate deep subwavelength confinement and long-range propagation simultaneously. Moreover, the optical forces exerted on dielectric nanoparticles by these waveguides are calculated. It is found that the optical trapping forces are very strong, and that their distribution can be effectively regulated by certain geometry parameters. Using these features, strong and tunable near-field optical tweezers can be designed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-369
Author(s):  
刘炳辉 LIU Binghui ◽  
杨立军 YANG Lijun ◽  
王扬 WANG Yang ◽  
袁巨龙 YUAN Julong

Photonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 434
Author(s):  
Heng Li ◽  
Wanying Song ◽  
Yanan Zhao ◽  
Qin Cao ◽  
Ahao Wen

The optical trapping, sensing, and imaging of nanostructures and biological samples are research hotspots in the fields of biomedicine and nanophotonics. However, because of the diffraction limit of light, traditional optical tweezers and microscopy are difficult to use to trap and observe objects smaller than 200 nm. Near-field scanning probes, metamaterial superlenses, and photonic crystals have been designed to overcome the diffraction limit, and thus are used for nanoscale optical trapping, sensing, and imaging. Additionally, photonic nanojets that are simply generated by dielectric microspheres can break the diffraction limit and enhance optical forces, detection signals, and imaging resolution. In this review, we summarize the current types of microsphere lenses, as well as their principles and applications in nano-optical trapping, signal enhancement, and super-resolution imaging, with particular attention paid to research progress in photonic nanojets for the trapping, sensing, and imaging of biological cells and tissues.


2011 ◽  
Vol 299-300 ◽  
pp. 1068-1071
Author(s):  
Jing Tang ◽  
Li Jun Yang ◽  
Bing Hui Liu ◽  
Yang Wang

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-65
Author(s):  
Binghui Liu ◽  
Lijun Yang ◽  
Yang Wang
Keyword(s):  

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