Simulation of Optical Nano-Manipulation with Metallic Single and Dual Probe Irradiated by Polarized Near-Field Laser

Nano-manipulation technology, as a kind of bottom-up tool, has exhibited an excellent capacity in the field of measurement and fabrication on the nanoscale. Although variety manipulation methods based on probes and microscopes were proposed and widely used due to locating and imaging with high resolution, the development of non-contacted schemes for these methods is still indispensable to operate small objects without damage. However, optical manipulation, especially near-field trapping, is a perfect candidate for establishing brilliant manipulation systems. This paper reports about simulations on the electric and force fields at the tips of metallic probes irradiated by polarized laser outputted coming from a scanning near-field optical microscope probe. Distributions of electric and force field at the tip of a probe have proven that the polarized laser can induce nanoscale evanescent fields with high intensity, which arouse effective force to move nanoparticles. Moreover, schemes with dual probes are also presented and discussed in this paper. Simulation results indicate that different combinations of metallic probes and polarized lasers will provide diverse near-field and corresponding optical force. With the suitable direction of probes and polarization direction, the dual probe exhibits higher trapping force and wider effective wavelength range than a single probe. So, these results give more novel and promising selections for realizing optical manipulation in experiments, so that distinguished multi-functional manipulation systems can be developed.

Automated summary

This paper reports on the simulations of electric and force fields at the tips of metallic probes irradiated by polarized laser output from a scanning near-field optical microscope probe. The results demonstrate that polarized laser can induce nanoscale evanescent fields with high intensity, which effectively move nanoparticles. The paper also discusses schemes with dual probes, showing that different combinations of metallic probes and polarized lasers provide diverse near-field and corresponding optical force.