Optical Binding of Nanowires

0477932 - ÚPT 2018 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Simpson, Stephen Hugh - Zemánek, Pavel - Marago, O. M. - Jones, P.H. - Hanna, S.
Optical Binding of Nanowires.
Nano Letters. Roč. 17, č. 6 (2017), s. 3485-3492. ISSN 1530-6984. E-ISSN 1530-6992
R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) CNR-16-12
Program: Bilaterální spolupráce
Institutional support: RVO:68081731
Keywords : optical binding nanowires * Brownian motion * self-organization * non-equilibrium thermodynamics * non-equilibrium steady state * spin-orbit coupling * emergent phenomena
OECD category: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics)
Impact factor: 12.080, year: 2017

Multiple scattering of light induces structured interactions, or optical binding forces, between collections of small particles. This has been extensively studied in the case of microspheres. However, binding forces are strongly shape dependent: here, we turn our attention to dielectric nanowires. Using a novel numerical model we uncover rich behavior. The extreme geometry of the nanowires produces a sequence of stationary and dynamic states. In linearly polarized light, thermally stable ladder-like structures emerge. Lower symmetry, sagittate arrangements can also arise, whose configurational asymmetry unbalances the optical forces leading to nonconservative, translational motion. Finally, the addition of circular polarization drives a variety of coordinated rotational states whose dynamics expose fundamental properties of optical spin. These results suggest that optical binding can provide an increased level of control over the positions and motions of nanoparticles, opening new possibilities for driven self-organization and heralding a new field of self-assembling optically driven micromachines.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0274144