Soft-landing and optical characterization of a preselected single fluorescent particle on a tapered optical fiber

Tapered optical fibers offer easy access to the evanescent field of their guided modes which is ideal for sensing applications. We introduce a soft-landing technique utilizing a linear Paul trap to select and place a single microparticle on the surface of a tapered optical fiber. This approach allows on-demand functionalization of fragile nanophotonic components with arbitrary particles, e. g., for advanced nanosensors. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America