Open AccessOptimized optical trapping of gold nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Faegheh Hajizadeh,
S. Nader S. Reihani
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.000551
Subject(s) - optical tweezers , materials science , colloidal gold , nanoparticle , optical force , optics , trapping , rayleigh scattering , laser , nanotechnology , optical power , laser power scaling , range (aeronautics) , volume (thermodynamics) , optoelectronics , composite material , physics , ecology , quantum mechanics , biology
Metallic nanoparticles are of significant interest due to their particular optical and biological applications. Gold nanoparticles are proven to be excellent candidate for in vivo micro-manipulation using Optical Tweezers. This manuscript reports on stable 3-D trapping of 9.5-254nm gold nanospheres using substantially decreased laser power. The lower limit is approximately 2 times smaller than previous record. 5.4nm gold nanospheres were trapped for only 2-3 seconds. For the first time, our experimental data verify the volume corrected Rayleigh model for particles smaller than 100nm in diameter. Measuring the maximum applicable force for gold nanoparticles, we have shown that a few tens of milli-Watts of laser power can produce pico-Newton range forces.