Efficient Optical Manipulation of Janus Particles by Optical Nanofibers

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel optical method to manipulate Janus particles using nanofibers, achieving precise control and high propulsion speeds, which could advance biomedical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new optical manipulation technique for Janus particles using evanescent fields of nanofibers, surpassing previous methods in precision and speed.

Findings

Janus particles show stronger localization and faster propulsion than dielectric particles.

Propulsion speed reaches up to 133 body lengths per second at 200 mW.

Optical forces enable precise, long-range manipulation of Janus particles.

Abstract

Small composite objects, known as Janus particles, drive sustained scientific interest primarily targeted at biomedical applications, where such objects act as micro- or nanoscale actuators, carriers, or imaging agents. The major practical challenge is to develop effective methods for manipulation of Janus particles. The available long-range methods mostly rely on chemical reactions or thermal gradients, therefore having mediocre precision and strong dependency on the content and properties of the carrier fluid. To tackle these limitations, we propose the manipulation of Janus particles (here, silica microspheres half-coated with gold) by optical forces in the evanescent field of an optical nanofiber. We find that Janus particles exhibit stronger transverse localization and faster propulsion compared to all-dielectric particles of the same size. The propulsion speed recorded for a 3-$\mu$m particle with a 20-nm-thick gold cap averages at 2~$\mu$m/s per 1~mW of optical power, reaching 133 body length/s at 200~mW going through the nanofiber.