Trapping Of Nano-Particles Using A Near-Field Optical Fiber Probe

By employing a generalization of the conservation law for momentum using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, the feasibility of using a near-field optical fibre probe to create near-field optical trapping is investigated. Numerical results indicate that the scheme is able to trap nano-particles with diameters of tens of nanometres in a circular shape with lower laser intensity. Using the built system with a tapered metal-coated fibre probe, 120 nm polystyrene particles are trapped in a multi-circular shape with a minimum size of 400 nm. They are at a resolution of lambda/7 (A: laser wavelength) and d (d: tip diameter of fiber probe), respectively.