Advances in Optical Nanomanipulation

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanophotonics Materials and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2024 | Viewed by 1658

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Nanophotonics, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China
Interests: optical tweezers; plasmonic nanoparticles; nanophotonics; structured light

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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China
Interests: plasmonics; metal-semiconductor heterogeneous nanostructures; two-dimensional materials; photoelectronic; optical spectroscopy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optical techniques have been widely applied to probe and/or control matter due to the multiparameter tunability (e.g., power, shape, polarization, wavelength, and momentum) of light. One prominent example is the use of optical tweezers. It has provided a unique tool for trapping and manipulating objects ranging from micrometers to angstroms in size. This technique has led to remarkable breakthroughs in chemistry, materials science, and physics. However, it is difficult to use optical tweezers at the nanoscale, and various nanostructures can now be synthesized but not manipulated on demand. Optical trapping and manipulation normally depend on the intensity gradient force, i.e., a force that scales down with the particle volume. This becomes an issue at the nanometer scale, particularly in liquid, where the optical force is usually too weak to resist thermal fluctuations. Although holographic beam shaping has enabled a versatile modulation of the optical landscape for micromanipulation in symmetric and asymmetric potential wells, the on-demand manipulation of functional nanostructures with light is still extremely challenging.

The present Special Issue of Nanomaterials aims to collate comprehensive research articles, communications, and review papers that focus on the development of advanced optical manipulation techniques to transcend the boundary between materials science and nanophotonics.

In this Special Issue, research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • The optical manipulation of single nanoparticles with structured light;
  • Light-guided self-assembly of nanoparticles;
  • Design and synthesis of novel functional photonics materials for nanometric optical tweezers;
  • Advanced beam shaping;
  • Optical spectroscopy and analysis.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Fan Nan
Dr. Ziqiang Cheng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • optical trapping
  • optical transporting and sorting
  • optical pulling and negative optical torque
  • lateral optical force
  • optical binding
  • active particles
  • structured light
  • optical sensing and detection

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 9274 KiB  
Article
Optical Force Effects of Rayleigh Particles by Cylindrical Vector Beams
by Yuting Zhao, Liqiang Zhou, Xiaotong Jiang, Linwei Zhu and Qiang Shi
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(8), 691; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14080691 - 17 Apr 2024
Viewed by 309
Abstract
High-order cylindrical vector beams possess flexible spatial polarization and exhibit new effects and phenomena that can expand the functionality and enhance the capability of optical systems. However, building a general analytical model for highly focused beams with different polarization orders remains a challenge. [...] Read more.
High-order cylindrical vector beams possess flexible spatial polarization and exhibit new effects and phenomena that can expand the functionality and enhance the capability of optical systems. However, building a general analytical model for highly focused beams with different polarization orders remains a challenge. Here, we elaborately develop the vector theory of high-order cylindrical vector beams in a high numerical aperture focusing system and achieve the vectorial diffraction integrals for describing the tight focusing field with the space-variant distribution of polarization orders within the framework of Richards–Wolf diffraction theory. The analytical formulae include the exact three Cartesian components of electric and magnetic distributions in the tightly focused region. Additionally, utilizing the analytical formulae, we can achieve the gradient force, scattering force, and curl-spin force exerted on Rayleigh particles trapped by high-order cylindrical vector beams. These results are crucial for improving the design and engineering of the tightly focused field by modulating the polarization orders of high-order cylindrical vector beams, particularly for applications such as optical tweezers and optical manipulation. This theoretical analysis also extends to the calculation of complicated optical vortex vector fields and the design of diffractive optical elements with high diffraction efficiency and resolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Optical Nanomanipulation)
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13 pages, 2702 KiB  
Article
Chiral Mechanical Effect of the Tightly Focused Chiral Vector Vortex Fields Interacting with Particles
by Qiang Zhang, Zhirong Liu and Ziqiang Cheng
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(15), 2251; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13152251 - 04 Aug 2023
Viewed by 819
Abstract
The coupling of the spin-orbit angular momentum of photons in a focused spatial region can enhance the localized optical field’s chirality. In this paper, a scheme for producing a superchiral optical field in a 4π microscopic system is presented by tightly focusing [...] Read more.
The coupling of the spin-orbit angular momentum of photons in a focused spatial region can enhance the localized optical field’s chirality. In this paper, a scheme for producing a superchiral optical field in a 4π microscopic system is presented by tightly focusing two counter-propagating spiral wavefronts. We calculate the optical forces and torques exerted on a chiral dipole by the chiral light field and reveal the chiral forces by combining the light field and dipoles. Results indicate that, in addition to the general optical force, particles’ motion would be affected by a chiral force that is directly related to the particle chirality. This chiral mechanical effect experienced by the electromagnetic dipoles excited on a chiral particle could be characterized by the behaviors of chirality density and flux, which are, respectively, associated with the reactive and dissipative components of the chiral forces. This work facilitates the advancement of optical separation and manipulation techniques for chiral particles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Optical Nanomanipulation)
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