NFO 2022

Abstract

Optical trapping using nanoapertures such as double nanoholes (DNHs) is a useful technique for analysing proteins and other small particles which unfortunately is inaccessible for many due to the complicated optical setup and nanofabrication requirements. Integrating a DNH aperture on the tip of an optical fiber greatly simplifies the technique as it allows for fully fiber-based trapping systems which require only minimal optics experience. Previous works have demonstrated nanoaperture optical fiber tweezers, but fabrication has been based on expensive top-down approaches. This work presents a method to fabricate nanoaperture optical fiber tweezers by colloidal pattern transfer with a low-cost pattern fabricated using colloidal lithography. Results of optical trapping using a fabricated nanoaperture fiber tweezer with a polystyrene nanoparticle size standard are also presented.

Michael Dobinson

PhD Student

Research interests include quantum computing, optics, photonics, and microelectronics.