Browsing by Author "Bresoli-Obach, Roger"

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Dynamic Coupling of Optically Evolved Assembling and Swarming of Gold Nanoparticles with Photothermal Local Phase Separation of Polymer Solution
(2020-07-30)
Aibara, Issei
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Huang, Chih-Hao
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Kudo, Tetsuhiro
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Bresoli-Obach, Roger
;
Hofkens, Johan
Optical trapping of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) at a glass/solution interface initially generates a periodically aligned structure of a few NPs along the direction perpendicular to a linearly polarized laser. When the number of NPs was increased, this alignment was expanded to the outside of the irradiated focus, forming a single large assembly where the Au NPs dynamically fluctuated like a swarming of bees. The morphology was dumbbell-shape, consisting of two swarms at both sides of the focus, and its size reached about 10 mu m. This optically evolved assembling and swarming was studied in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) solution, where liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) was induced by photothermal heating of the trapped Au NPs forming a microdroplet of highly concentrated PNIPAM. Dynamic coupling of the NPs assembling and swarming with the droplet formation of PNIPAM leads to cooperative optical evolution, through which the assembly was embedded in the single microdroplet.
Fast-tracking of single emitters in large volumes with nanometer precision
(2020-09-14)
Louis, Boris
;
Camacho, Rafael
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Bresoli-Obach, Roger
;
Abakumov, Sergey
;
Vandaele, Johannes
Multifocal plane microscopy allows for capturing images at different focal planes simultaneously. Using a proprietary prism which splits the emitted light into paths of different lengths, images at 8 different focal depths were obtained, covering a volume of 50x50x4 mu m(3). The position of single emitters was retrieved using a phasor-based approach across the different imaging planes, with better than 10 nm precision in the axial direction. We validated the accuracy of this approach by tracking fluorescent beads in 3D to calculate water viscosity. The fast acquisition rate (>100 fps) also enabled us to follow the capturing of 0.2 mu m fluorescent beads into an optical trap. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement
Surface plasmon resonance effect on laser trapping and swarming of gold nanoparticles a an interface
(2020-09-14)
Huang, Chih-Hao
;
Kudo, Tetsuhiro
;
Bresoli-Obach, Roger
;
Hofkens, Johan
;
Sugiyama, Teruki
Laser trapping at an interface is a unique platform for aligning and assembling nanomaterials outside the focal spot. In our previous studies, Au nanoparticles form a dynamically evolved assembly outside the focus, leading to the formation of an antenna-like structure with their fluctuating swarms. Herein, we unravel the role of surface plasmon resonance on the swarming phenomena by tuning the trapping laser wavelength concerning the dipole mode for Au nanoparticles of different sizes. We clearly show that the swarm is formed when the laser wavelength is near to the resonance peak of the dipole mode together with an increase in the swarming area. The interpretation is well supported by the scattering spectra and the spatial light scattering profiles from single nanoparticle simulations. These findings indicate that whether the first trapped particle is resonant with trapping laser or not essentially determines the evolution of the swarming. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement