Rotating Au nanorod and nanowire driven by circularly polarized light

The wavelength-dependent optical torques provided by a circularly polarized (CP) plane wave driving Au nanorod (NR) and nanowire (NW) to rotate constantly were studied theoretically. Using the multiple multipole method, the resultant torque in terms of Maxwell's stress tensor was analyzed. Numerical results show that the optical torque spectrum is in accordance with the absorption spectrum of Au NR/NW. Under the same fluence, the maximum optical torque occurs at the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Au NR/NW, accompanied by a severe plasmonic heating. The rotation direction of the light-driven NR/NW depends on the handedness of CP light. In contrast, the optical torque exerted on Au NR/NW illuminated by a linearly polarized light is null at LSPR. Due to the plasmonic effect, the optical torque on Au NR/NW by CP light is two orders of magnitude larger than that on a dielectric NR/NW of the same size. The steady-state rotation of NR/NW in water, resulting from the balance of optical torque and viscous torque, was also discussed. Our finding shed some light on manipulating a CP light-driven Au NR/NW as a rotating nanomotor for a variety of applications in optofluidics and biophysics. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America