Plasmonic Optical Tweezers based on Nanostructures: fundamentals, advances and prospects

The ability of metallic nanostructures to confine light at the sub-wavelength scale enables new perspectives and opportunities in the field of nanotechnology. Making use of this unique advantage, nano-optical trapping techniques have been developed to tackle new challenges in a wide range of areas from biology to quantum optics. In this work, starting from basic theories, we present a review of research progress in near-field optical manipulation techniques based on metallic nanostructures, with an emphasis on some of the most promising advances in molecular technology, such as the precise control of single-biomolecules. We also provide an overview of possible future research directions of nano-manipulation techniques.Comment: 19 page

Nonlocal optical response in metallic nanostructures

This review provides a broad overview of the studies and effects of nonlocal response in metallic nanostructures. In particular, we thoroughly present the nonlocal hydrodynamic model and the recently introduced generalized nonlocal optical response (GNOR) model. The influence of nonlocal response on plasmonic excitations is studied in key metallic geometries, such as spheres and dimers, and we derive new consequences due to the GNOR model. Finally, we propose several trajectories for future work on nonlocal response, including experimental setups that may unveil further effects of nonlocal response

Dual polarization operation of nanostructure arrays in the MIR region

In this paper, we report on arrays of asymmetric split H-shape nanostructures tuned to produce two distinct resonances at wavelengths that range from 3 μm to 7 μm. The electric-field of the incident wave has been both polarized parallel to the vertical asymmetric dipole arms and polarized across the 50 nm gap in the asymmetric horizontal bar. We have produced resonance quality factors as large as 26 in the mid-infrared region

Coherent Amplification of Optical Pulses in Metamaterials

In this paper we theoretically study propagation of steady state ultrashort pulse in dissipative medium. We considered two cases (i) medium consists of lossy metallic nanostructures embedded into a gain material and (ii) the gain material is embedded directly into the nanostructures. We found the shape and velocity of an optical pulse coupled with the polarization wave.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to IEEE Tran