Extended organization of colloidal microparticles by surface plasmon polariton excitation

In this paper we demonstrate the first use of enhanced optical forces and optically induced thermophoretic and convective forces produced by surface plasmon polariton excitation for large-scale ordering and trapping of colloidal aggregations. We identify regimes in which each of these forces dominate the colloidal dynamics and lead to different collective equilibrium states. These include accumulation and organization into hexagonal close-packed colloidal crystals, arrangement into linear colloidal particle chains, and the formation of colloids in a ring formation about the excited region.