Optically induced sieve effect for nanoparticles near a nanofiber taper

Abstract

We demonstrate size selective optical trapping and transport for nanoparticles near an optical nanofiber taper. Using a two-wavelength, counter-propagating mode configuration, we show that 100 nm diameter and 150 nm diameter gold nanospheres (GNSs) are trapped by the evanescent field in the taper region at different optical powers. Conversely, when one nanoparticle species is trapped the other may be transported, leading to a sieve-like effect. Our results show that sophisticated optical manipulation can be achieved in a passive configuration by taking advantage of mode behavior in nanophotonics devices.