Three dimensional nanoparticle trapping enhanced by surface plasmon resonance

We demonstrate a three dimensional nanoparticle trapping approach aided by the surface plasmon resonance of metallic nanostructures. The localized surface plasmon resonance effect provides strong electromagnetic field enhancement, which enables confinement of nanoparticles in the three-dimensional space. Numerical simulations indicate that the plasmonic structure provides approximately two orders of magnitude stronger optical forces for trapping nanoparticles, compared with that without nanostructures. The study of thermal effect of the plasmonic structure shows that the impact of the thermal force is significant, which may determine the outcome of the nanoparticle trapping. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America