Open AccessOptical traps and anti-traps for glass nanoplates in hollow waveguides
Author(s) -
M. C. Günendi,
Shangran Xie,
David Novoa,
P. St. J. Russell
Publication year - 2019
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.27.017708
Subject(s) - optical force , materials science , optics , pressure gradient force , waveguide , optical tweezers , resonance (particle physics) , core (optical fiber) , bistability , transverse plane , laser , photonics , trapping , optoelectronics , physics , structural engineering , particle physics , engineering , ecology , biology
We study theoretically the optical forces acting on glass nanoplates introduced into hollow waveguides, and show that, depending on the sign of the laser detuning relative to the nanoplate resonance, optomechanical back-action between nanoplate and hollow waveguide can create both traps and anti-traps at intensity nodes and anti-nodes in the supermode field profile, behaving similarly to those experienced by cold atoms when the laser frequency is red or blue detuned of an atomic resonance. This arises from dramatic distortions to the mode profile in the hollow waveguide when the nanoplate is off-resonant, producing gradient forces that vary strongly with nanoplate position. In a planar system, we show that when the nanoplate is constrained by an imaginary mechanical spring, its position exhibits strong bistability as the base position is varied. We then treat a two-dimensional system consisting of an anti-resonant nanoplate in the hollow core of a photonic crystal fiber, and predict the stable dark trapping of nanoplate at core center against both translational and rotational motion. The results show that spatial and angular position of nano-scale objects in hollow waveguides can be optically controlled by launching beams with appropriately synthesized transverse field profiles.