Abstract
Arrangements of nanostructures in well-defined patterns are the basis of photonic crystals, metamaterials and holograms. Furthermore, rewritable optical materials can be achieved by dynamically manipulating nanoassemblies. Here we demonstrate a mechanism to configure plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) in polymer media using nanosecond laser pulses. The mechanism relies on optical forces produced by the interference of laser beams, which allow NPs to migrate to lower-energy configurations. The resulting NP arrangements are stable without any external energy source, but erasable and rewritable by additional recording pulses. We demonstrate reconfigurable optical elements including multilayer Bragg diffraction gratings, volumetric photonic crystals and lenses, as well as dynamic holograms of three-dimensional virtual objects. We aim to expand the applications of optical forces, which have been mostly restricted to optical tweezers. Holographic assemblies of nanoparticles will allow a new generation of programmable composites for tunable metamaterials, data storage devices, sensors and displays.
Highlights
Arrangements of nanostructures in well-defined patterns are the basis of photonic crystals, metamaterials and holograms
In addition to the optical force, thermodynamic[29] and acoustic[30] forces arise due to mechanical pressure produced by temperature increase in the medium, which pushes NPs towards the minimum light intensity regions[31,32,33]
These effects can produce reconfigurability, the system presented in this work is in the optical force regime (Supplementary Notes 1 and 2, and Supplementary Fig. 1). This optical forceinduced mechanism to assemble nanostructures in organized, reversible configurations in solids has not been reported previously. Using this mechanism in the negative force regime, we demonstrate rewritable photonic crystals, optical elements and 3D holograms
Summary
Arrangements of nanostructures in well-defined patterns are the basis of photonic crystals, metamaterials and holograms. Low dissipation of temperature and mechanical pressure are necessary to achieve thermophoresis and acoustophoresis These effects can produce reconfigurability, the system presented in this work is in the optical force regime (Supplementary Notes 1 and 2, and Supplementary Fig. 1). To our knowledge, this optical forceinduced mechanism to assemble nanostructures in organized, reversible configurations in solids has not been reported previously. This optical forceinduced mechanism to assemble nanostructures in organized, reversible configurations in solids has not been reported previously Using this mechanism in the negative force regime, we demonstrate rewritable photonic crystals, optical elements and 3D holograms
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