Optical Trapping-Formed Colloidal Assembly with Horns Extended to the Outside of a Focus through Light Propagation

We report optical trapping and assembling of colloidal particles at a glass/solution interface with a tightly focused laser beam of high intensity. It is generally believed that the particles are gathered only in an irradiated area where optical force is exerted on the particles by laser beam. Here we demonstrate that, the propagation of trapping laser from the focus to the outside of the formed assembly leads to expansion of the assembly much larger than the irradiated area with sticking out rows of linearly aligned particles like horns. The shape of the assembly, its structure, and the number of horns can be controlled by laser polarization. Optical trapping study utilizing the light propagation will open a new avenue for assembling and crystallizing quantum dots, metal nanoparticles, molecular clusters, proteins, and DNA.