We present a biophotonics platform based on the optical manipulation of photonic membranes via holographical tweezers. We review the fabrication and manipulation protocol which grants full six-degrees-of-freedom control over these membranes. This is despite the membranes having extreme aspect ratios, being 90 nm in thickness and 15 - 20 μm in side length. The photonic properties of the trapped membranes can be tailored to very specific applications, by structuring their topology carefully. Our method merges the flexibility of photonic design of optical meta-surfaces with the advanced manipulation capability offered by holographic optical tweezers. Here we demonstrate the validity of our approach, discussing the peculiar mechanical properties of trapped photonic membranes. Specifically, we focus on imaging and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy applications.

Date Published: 25 August 2017
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 10347, Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation XIV, 103472P (25 August 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2277184

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10347:
Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation XIV
Kishan Dholakia; Gabriel C. Spalding, Editor(s)