Optical manipulation of microparticles using whispering-gallery modes in a silicon nitride microdisk resonator

Opt Lett. 2011 Nov 1;36(21):4257-9. doi: 10.1364/OL.36.004257.

Abstract

We demonstrate optical manipulation of 1 μm sized polystyrene microparticles on silicon nitride microdisk resonator devices using whispering-gallery modes in an integrated optofluidic chip. We demonstrate multiple trapping tracks and extended trapping ranges within single wavelengths through exciting high-order modes. We observe various sets of trapping tracks and ranges through exciting various resonance modes. We switch particle traveling tracks by tuning the laser wavelength to various wavelengths. We also observe microparticles assembling along the trapping tracks.