Optical Trapping of Quantum Dots Based on Gap-Mode-Excitation of Localized Surface Plasmon

One of the recent hot topics in the fields of plasmonics and related nanophotonics is optical trapping of nano/microparticles based on surface plasmon. Experimental demonstration of such trapping by gap-mode plasmon has hitherto been limited so far to a few reports in which submicrometer polymer beads were trapped with intense irradiation at MW/cm2, satisfying an energetic condition of U > kT. (U is the potential energy of the trap and kT is an averaged thermal background energy.) We demonstrate plasmon-based optical trapping of a luminescent quantum dot (Q dot, diameter ≥10 nm) with a very weak irradiation (0.5−10 kW/cm2). The most important discovery is that the Q dot trapping was clearly observed through luminescence detection even under an energetic condition of U < kT, on the basis of which we propose a novel concept that is peculiar to plasmon-based trapping at a nanogap.