Methods of manipulating particles on solid substrates via optothermally-gated photon nudging

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11367539-B2
Application number	US-202017103240-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 24, 2020
Priority date	Nov 27, 2019
Publication date	Jun 21, 2022
Grant date	Jun 21, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods of manipulating particles on solid substrates via optothermally-gated photon nudging.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
illuminating a first location of an optothermal system with electromagnetic radiation, wherein the optothermal system comprises:
a substrate having a first surface;
a surfactant layer disposed on the first surface of the substrate, wherein the surfactant layer is a solid thin film; and
a first particle disposed on the surfactant layer, such that the surfactant layer is between the first particle and the first surface of the substrate;
wherein the first particle is a first optothermal particle, the substrate is an optothermal substrate, or a combination thereof;
wherein:
when the first particle is the first optothermal particle, then the first optothermal particle is in thermal contact with the surfactant layer; and
when the substrate is the optothermal substrate, then the optothermal substrate is in thermal contact with the surfactant layer;

wherein the first location of the optothermal system includes at least a portion of the first particle such that:
the first particle scatters at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation, thereby producing a first radiation-pressure force on the first particle; and
when the first particle is the first optothermal particle, the first optothermal particle converts at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy;

wherein, when the substrate is the optothermal substrate, the optothermal substrate converts at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy; and
wherein the thermal energy converted by the first optothermal particle, the optothermal substrate, or a combination thereof is sufficient to generate a manipulation region at a location of the surfactant layer proximate to the first location of the optothermal system;
thereby:
generating the manipulation region at the location of the surfactant layer proximate to the first location of the optothermal system, wherein the manipulation region has a temperature sufficient to induce a first-order phase transition from a solid phase to a liquid or quasi-liquid phase in the portion of the surfactant layer within the manipulation region;
inducing the first-order phase transition in the portion of the surfactant layer within the manipulation region;
producing the first radiation-pressure force on the first particle, wherein the first radiation-pressure force is sufficient to translate the first particle from a first location within the manipulation region to a second location within the manipulation region; and
translating the first particle from the first location within the manipulation region to the second location within the manipulation region.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises glass, quartz, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, a polymer, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises the optothermal substrate and the optothermal substrate comprises a plasmonic substrate, a metal substrate, a dielectric substrate, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises the optothermal substrate and the optothermal substrate comprises a plasmonic substrate and the electromagnetic radiation comprises a wavelength that overlaps with at least a portion of the plasmon resonance energy of the plasmonic substrate such that the manipulation region is generated by plasmon-enhanced photothermal effects.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first particle comprises a metal particle, a semiconductor particle, an inorganic particle, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first particle comprises a semiconductor particle, the semiconductor particle comprising a semiconductor selected from the group consisting of GeAs, GaAs, TiO 2 , Si, and combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first particle comprises an inorganic particle comprising an inorganic perovskite.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first particle comprises an inorganic particle comprising barium titanate, titanium nitride, or a combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first particle comprises the first optothermal particle and the first optothermal particle comprises a plasmonic particle and the electromagnetic radiation comprises a wavelength that overlaps with at least a portion of the plasmon resonance energy of the plasmonic particle such that the manipulation region is generated by plasmon-enhanced photothermal effects.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic radiation has: a power density of from 0.1 mW/μm 2 to 15 mW/μm 2 ; a power of from 0.1 mW to 5 mW; or a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant layer comprises cetrimonium bromide (CTAB), cetrimonium chloride (CTAC), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant layer has an average thickness of from 10 nm to 500 nm.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first particle is not damaged during the method.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
illuminating a third location of the optothermal system with electromagnetic radiation, wherein the optothermal system further comprises:
a second particle disposed on the surfactant layer, such that the surfactant layer is between the second particle and the first surface of the substrate;
wherein the second particle is a second optothermal particle, the substrate is the optothermal substrate, or a combination thereof;
wherein:
when the second particle is the second optothermal particle, then the second optothermal particle is in thermal contact with the surfactant layer; and
when the substrate is the optothermal substrate, the optothermal substrate is in thermal contact with the surfactant layer;

wherein the third location of the optothermal system includes at least a portion of the second particle such that:
the second particle scatters at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation, thereby producing a second radiation-pressure force on the second particle; and
when the second particle is the second optothermal particle, the second optothermal particle converts at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy;

wherein, when the substrate is the optothermal substrate, the optothermal substrate converts at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy;
wherein the thermal energy converted by the second optothermal particle, the optothermal substrate, or a combination thereof is sufficient to generate a second manipulation region at a location of the surfactant layer proximate to the third location of the optothermal system;
thereby:
generating the second manipulation region at the location of the surfactant layer proximate to the third location of the optothermal system, wherein the second manipulation region has a temperature sufficient to induce the first-order phase transition from the solid phase to the liquid or quasi-liquid phase in the portion of the surfactant layer within the second manipulation region;
inducing the first-order phase transition in the portion of the surfactant layer within the second manipulation region;
producing the second radiation-pressure force on the second particle, wherein the second radiation-pressure force is sufficient to translate the second particle from a first location within the second manipulation region to a second location within the second manipulation region; and
translating the second particle from the first location within the second manipulation region to th

Assignees

• Univ Texas
• Board Of Trustees The Univ Of Texas System

Inventors

• Zheng Yuebing
• Li Jingang

Classifications

• G21K1/30 Primary

  for confining neutral particles or handling confined neutral particles, e.g. atom traps · CPC title

• G01N21/658

  enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons · CPC title

• B82B3/0076 Primary

  Methods for manipulating nanostructures not provided for in groups B82B3/0066 - B82B3/0071 · CPC title

• G21K1/006 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic