Letter abstract


Nature Nanotechnology 4, 510 - 513 (2009)
Published online: 13 July 2009 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2009.186

Subject Categories: NEMS | Photonic structures and devices

Tunable optical forces between nanophotonic waveguides

Joris Roels1, Iwijn De Vlaminck2, Liesbet Lagae2, Bjorn Maes1, Dries Van Thourhout1 & Roel Baets1


The confinement of light in components with nanoscale cross-sections in nanophotonic circuits significantly enhances the magnitude of the optical forces experienced by these components1, 2. Here we demonstrate optical gradient forces between two nanophotonic waveguides, and show that the sign of the force can be tuned from attractive to repulsive by controlling the relative phase of the optical fields injected into the waveguides. The optical gradient force could have applications in optically tunable microphotonic devices and nanomechanical systems.

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  1. Department of Information Technology (INTEC), Ghent University – IMEC, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium
  2. IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

Correspondence to: Joris Roels1 e-mail: joris.roels@intec.ugent.be



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