Nanophotonic trapping for precise manipulation of biomolecular arrays

Optical trapping is a powerful manipulation and measurement technique widely used in the biological and materials sciences(1-8). Miniaturizing optical trap instruments onto optofluidic platforms holds promise for high-throughput lab-on-a-chip applications(9-16). However, a persistent challenge with existing optofluidic devices has been achieving controlled and precise manipulation of trapped particles. Here, we report a new class of on-chip optical trapping devices. Using photonic interference functionalities, an array of stable, three-dimensional on-chip optical traps is formed at the antinodes of a standing-wave evanescent field on a nanophotonic waveguide. By employing the thermo-optic effect via integrated electric microheaters, the traps can be repositioned at high speed (similar to 30 kHz) with nanometre precision. We demonstrate sorting and manipulation of individual DNA molecules. In conjunction with laminar flows and fluorescence, we also show precise control of the chemical environment of a sample with simultaneous monitoring. Such a controllable trapping device has the potential to achieve high-throughput precision measurements on chip.