Synergy of Intensity, Phase, and Polarization Enables Versatile Optical Nanomanipulation

Micromanipulation by optical tweezers mainly relies on the trapping force derived from the intensity gradient of light. Here we show that the synergy of intensity, phase, and polarization in structured light allows versatile optical manipulation of nanostructures. When a metal nanoparticle is confined by a linearly polarized laser field, the sign of optical force depends on the particle shape and the laser intensity, phase, and polarization profiles. By tuning these parameters in optical line traps, optical trapping, transporting, and sorting of silver nanostructures have been demonstrated. These findings inspired us to control the motion of nanostructures with designed intensity, phase, and polarization of light using holographic optical tweezers with advanced beam shaping techniques. This work provides a new perspective on active colloidal nanomanipulation in fully controlled optical landscapes, which largely expands the existing optical manipulation toolbox.