Open AccessLaser Trapping of Colloidal Metal Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Anni Lehmuskero,
Peter Johansson,
Halina RubinszteinDunlop,
Lianming Tong,
Mikael Käll
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acs nano
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.554
H-Index - 382
eISSN - 1936-086X
pISSN - 1936-0851
DOI - 10.1021/acsnano.5b00286
Subject(s) - optical tweezers , materials science , laser , plasmon , nanoparticle , nanotechnology , polarization (electrochemistry) , trapping , dielectric , surface plasmon resonance , context (archaeology) , optoelectronics , optics , chemistry , physics , ecology , paleontology , biology
Optical trapping using focused laser beams (laser tweezers) has been proven to be extremely useful for contactless manipulation of a variety of small objects, including biological cells, organelles within cells, and a wide range of other dielectric micro- and nano-objects. Colloidal metal nanoparticles have drawn increasing attention in the field of optical trapping because of their unique interactions with electromagnetic radiation, caused by surface plasmon resonance effects, enabling a large number of nano-optical applications of high current interest. Here we try to give a comprehensive overview of the field of laser trapping and manipulation of metal nanoparticles based on results reported in the recent literature. We also discuss and describe the fundamentals of optical forces in the context of plasmonic nanoparticles, including effects of polarization, optical angular momentum, and laser heating effects, as well as the various techniques that have been used to trap and manipulate metal nanoparticles. We conclude by suggesting possible directions for future research.