Combined Optical and Chemical Control of a Microsized Photofueled Janus Particle.

A Au-silica Janus particle is elevated along the laser beam axis in an optical trap. The propulsion mechanism is based on the local temperature gradient created around the particle due to the photothermal conversion of the gold-coated hemisphere. The height of the particle and its motion-direction are tuned by the nature and the concentration of the electrolytes in the medium.

Optical Nanoparticle Sorting Elucidates Synthesis of Plasmonic Nanotriangles.

We investigate the optical and morphological properties of gold nanoparticles grown by reducing a gold salt with Na2S. Lasers are tuned to the observed plasmon resonances, and the optical forces exerted on the nanoparticles are used to selectively print individual nanoparticles onto a substrate. This enables us to combine dark-field spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to compare the optical properties of single nanoparticles with their morphology. By arresting the synthesis at different times, we are able to investigate which type of nanoparticle is responsible for the respective resonances. We find that thin Au nanotriangles are the source of the observed near infrared (NIR) resonance. The initial lateral growth of these triangles causes the plasmon resonance to redshift into the NIR, whereas a subsequent thickening of the triangles and a concomitant truncation lead to a blueshift of the resonance. Furthermore, we find that the nanotriangles produced have extremely narrow line widths (187 ± 23 meV), show nearly isotropic scattering, and are stable for long periods of time. This shows their vast potential for applications such as in vivo imaging and bio(chemical) sensing. The method used here is generally applicable to other syntheses, and shows how complex nanostructures can be built up on substrates by selectively printing NPs of varying plasmonic resonances.

An Optically Controlled Microscale Elevator Using Plasmonic Janus Particles.

In this article, we report how Janus particles, composed of a silica sphere with a gold half-shell, can be not only stably trapped by optical tweezers but also displaced controllably along the axis of the laser beam through a complex interplay between optical and thermal forces. Scattering forces orient the asymmetric particle, while strong absorption on the metal side induces a thermal gradient, resulting in particle motion. An increase in the laser power leads to an upward motion of the particle, while a decrease leads to a downward motion. We study this reversible axial displacement, including a hysteretic jump in the particle position that is a result of the complex pattern of a tightly focused laser beam structure above the focal plane. As a first application we simultaneously trap a spherical gold nanoparticle and show that we can control the distance between the two particles inside the trap. This photonic micron-scale "elevator" is a promising tool for thermal force studies, remote sensing, and optical and thermal micromanipulation experiments.

Optical force stamping lithography.

Here we introduce a new paradigm of far-field optical lithography, optical force stamping lithography. The approach employs optical forces exerted by a spatially modulated light field on colloidal nanoparticles to rapidly stamp large arbitrary patterns comprised of single nanoparticles onto a substrate with a single-nanoparticle positioning accuracy well beyond the diffraction limit. Because the process is all-optical, the stamping pattern can be changed almost instantly and there is no constraint on the type of nanoparticle or substrates used.

Optothermal escape of plasmonically coupled silver nanoparticles from a three-dimensional optical trap.

We demonstrate that optical trapping of multiple silver nanoparticles is strongly influenced by plasmonic coupling of the nanoparticles. Employing dark-field Rayleigh scattering imaging and spectroscopy on multiple silver nanoparticles optically trapped in three dimensions, we experimentally investigate the time-evolution of the coupled plasmon resonance and its influence on the trapping stability. With time the coupling strengthens, which is observed as a gradual red shift of the coupled plasmon scattering. When the coupled plasmon becomes resonant with the trapping laser wavelength, the trap is destabilized and nanoparticles are released from the trap. Modeling of the trapping potential and its comparison to the plasmonic heating efficiency at various nanoparticle separation distances suggests a thermal mechanism of the trap destabilization. Our findings provide insight into the specificity of three-dimensional optical manipulation of plasmonic nanostructures suitable for field enhancement, for example for surface-enhanced Raman scattering.