Ab-initio design of nanophotonic waveguides for tunable, bidirectional optical forces

We propose a set of principles to tailor and enhance optical forces between parallel, periodic dielectric waveguides by molding the eigen-mode field distribution via the combined effects of highly symmetric slow light modes and waveguide morphology. The geometries here considered are amenable to standard lithographic techniques and possess strong repulsive and attractive optical forces that can be enhanced via slow-light band edge modes. This new methodology should enable the fabrication of optomechanical devices for applications in sensing, switching and nano-optomechanical systems.