Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > By “putting a ring on it," microparticles can be captured

This schematic illustration shows a particle revolving around a silicon micro-ring resonator, propelled by optical forces.
This schematic illustration shows a particle revolving around a silicon micro-ring resonator, propelled by optical forces.

Abstract:
Silicon micro-ring resonator could help advance nanomanipulation

By Michael Patrick Rutter, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

By “putting a ring on it," microparticles can be captured

Cambridge, MA | Posted on July 28th, 2010

To trap and hold tiny microparticles, research engineers at Harvard have "put a ring on it," using a silicon-based circular resonator to confine particles stably for up to several minutes.

The advance, published recently in Nano Letters, could one day lead to the ability to direct, deliver, and store nanoparticles and biomolecules on all-optical chips.

"We demonstrated the power of what we call resonant cavity trapping, where a particle is guided along a small waveguide and then pulled onto a micro-ring resonator," explains Kenneth Crozier, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) who directed the research. "Once on the ring, optical forces prevent it from escaping, and cause it to revolve around it."

The process looks similar to what you see in liquid motion toys, where tiny beads of colored drops run along plastic tracks—but on much smaller scale and with different physical mechanisms. The rings have radii of a mere 5 to 10 micrometers and are built using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching.

Specifically, laser light is focused into a waveguide. Optical forces cause a particle to be drawn down toward the waveguide, and pushed along it. When the particle approaches a ring fabricated close to the waveguide, it is pulled from the waveguide to the ring by optical forces. The particle then circulates around the ring, propelled by optical forces at velocities of several hundred micrometers-per-second.

While using planar ring resonators to trap particles is not new, Crozier and his colleagues offered a new and more thorough analysis of the technique. In particular, they showed that using the silicon ring results in optical force enhancement (5 to 8 times versus the straight waveguide).

"Excitingly, particle-tracking measurements with a high speed camera reveal that the large transverse forces stably localize the particle so that the standard deviation in its trajectory, compared to a circle, is as small as 50 nm," says Crozier. "This represents a very tight localization over a comparatively large distance."

The ultimate aim is to develop and demonstrate fully all-optical on chip manipulation that offers a way to guide, store, and deliver both biological and artificial particles.

Crozier's co-authors included Shiyun Lin, a graduate student, and Ethan Schonburn, a research associate, both at SEAS.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Harvard Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) and the Center for Nanoscale Systems at Harvard, both supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

####

For more information, please click here

Copyright © Harvard University

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024

How surface roughness influences the adhesion of soft materials: Research team discovers universal mechanism that leads to adhesion hysteresis in soft materials March 8th, 2024

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024

Possible Futures

Two-dimensional bimetallic selenium-containing metal-organic frameworks and their calcinated derivatives as electrocatalysts for overall water splitting March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Academic/Education

Rice University launches Rice Synthetic Biology Institute to improve lives January 12th, 2024

Multi-institution, $4.6 million NSF grant to fund nanotechnology training September 9th, 2022

National Space Society Helps Fund Expanding Frontier’s Brownsville Summer Entrepreneur Academy: National Space Society and Club for the Future to Support Youth Development Program in South Texas June 24th, 2022

How a physicist aims to reduce the noise in quantum computing: NAU assistant professor Ryan Behunin received an NSF CAREER grant to study how to reduce the noise produced in the process of quantum computing, which will make it better and more practical April 1st, 2022

Optical computing/Photonic computing

Optically trapped quantum droplets of light can bind together to form macroscopic complexes March 8th, 2024

New chip opens door to AI computing at light speed February 16th, 2024

HKUST researchers develop new integration technique for efficient coupling of III-V and silicon February 16th, 2024

NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024

Announcements

What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024

Curcumin nanoemulsion is tested for treatment of intestinal inflammation: A formulation developed by Brazilian researchers proved effective in tests involving mice March 8th, 2024

The Access to Advanced Health Institute receives up to $12.7 million to develop novel nanoalum adjuvant formulation for better protection against tuberculosis and pandemic influenza March 8th, 2024

Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024

Tools

First direct imaging of small noble gas clusters at room temperature: Novel opportunities in quantum technology and condensed matter physics opened by noble gas atoms confined between graphene layers January 12th, 2024

New laser setup probes metamaterial structures with ultrafast pulses: The technique could speed up the development of acoustic lenses, impact-resistant films, and other futuristic materials November 17th, 2023

Ferroelectrically modulate the Fermi level of graphene oxide to enhance SERS response November 3rd, 2023

The USTC realizes In situ electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy using single nanodiamond sensors November 3rd, 2023

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project