Nanovortex-Driven All-Dielectric Optical Diffusion Boosting and Sorting Concept for Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms

0525154 - ÚPT 2021 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Valero, A.C. - Kislov, D. - Gurvitz, E.A. - Shamkhi, H. - Pavlov, A.A. - Redka, D. - Yankin, S. - Zemánek, Pavel - Shalin, A.S.
Nanovortex-Driven All-Dielectric Optical Diffusion Boosting and Sorting Concept for Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms.
Advanced Science. Roč. 7, č. 11 (2020), č. článku 1903049. E-ISSN 2198-3844
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA19-17765S; GA TA ČR TE01020233
Institutional support: RVO:68081731
Keywords : all-dielectric nanophotonics * lab-on-a-chip platforms * nanofluidics * optomechanical manipulations * spin-orbit couplings
OECD category: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics)
Impact factor: 16.806, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/advs.201903049

The ever-growing field of microfluidics requires precise and flexible control over fluid flows at reduced scales. Current constraints demand a variety of controllable components to carry out several operations inside microchambers and microreactors. In this context, brand-new nanophotonic approaches can significantly enhance existing capabilities providing unique functionalities via finely tuned light-matter interactions. A concept is proposed, featuring dual on-chip functionality: boosted optically driven diffusion and nanoparticle sorting. High-index dielectric nanoantennae is specially designed to ensure strongly enhanced spin-orbit angular momentum transfer from a laser beam to the scattered field. Hence, subwavelength optical nanovortices emerge driving spiral motion of plasmonic nanoparticles via the interplay between curl-spin optical forces and radiation pressure. The nanovortex size is an order of magnitude smaller than that provided by conventional beam-based approaches. The nanoparticles mediate nanoconfined fluid motion enabling moving-part-free nanomixing inside a microchamber. Moreover, exploiting the nontrivial size dependence of the curled optical forces makes it possible to achieve precise nanoscale sorting of gold nanoparticles, demanded for on-chip separation and filtering. Altogether, a versatile platform is introduced for further miniaturization of moving-part-free, optically driven microfluidic chips for fast chemical analysis, emulsion preparation, or chemical gradient generation with light-controlled navigation of nanoparticles, viruses or biomolecules.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0309357