On-chip optical levitation with a metalens in vacuum
Abstract
Optical levitation of dielectric particles in vacuum is a powerful technique for precision measurements, testing fundamental physics, and quantum information science. Conventional optical tweezers require bulky optical components for trapping and detection. Here, we design and fabricate an ultrathin dielectric metalens with a high numerical aperture of 0.88 at 1064 nm in vacuum. It consists of 500-nm-thick silicon nano-antennas, which are compatible with an ultrahigh vacuum. We demonstrate optical levitation of nanoparticles in vacuum with a single metalens. The trapping frequency can be tuned by changing the laser power and polarization. We also transfer a levitated nanoparticle between two separated optical tweezers. Optical levitation with an ultrathin metalens in vacuum provides opportunities for a wide range of applications including on-chip sensing. Such metalenses will also be useful for trapping ultracold atoms and molecules.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 21, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1364/optica.438410
Entities
People
- Jonghoon Ahn
- Kunhong Shen
- Lidan Zhang
- Peng Ju
- Tongcang Li
- Xi Chen
- Xingjie Ni
- Yao Duan
- Zhujing Xu
Organizations
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- Pennsylvania State University
- Purdue University
- Sandia National Laboratories