Particle trapping and beaming using a 3D nanotip excited with a plasmonic vortex
Kai Liu, Nicolò Maccaferri, Yuefeng Shen, Xueyun Li, Remo Proietti Zaccaria, Xuejin Zhang, Yuri Gorodetski, Denis Garoli
Abstract
Recent advances in nanotechnology have prompted the need for tools to accurately and noninvasively manipulate individual nano-objects. Among the possible strategies, optical forces have been widely used to enable nano-optical tweezers capable of trapping or moving a specimen with unprecedented accuracy. Here, we propose an architecture consisting of a nanotip excited with a plasmonic vortex enabling effective dynamic control of nanoparticles in three dimensions. The structure illuminated by a beam with angular momentum can generate an optical field that can be used to manipulate single dielectric nanoparticles. We demonstrate that it is possible to stably trap or push the particle from specific points, thus enabling a new, to the best of our knowledge, platform for nanoparticle manipulation.