Measurement of single nanoparticle anisotropy by laser induced optical alignment and Rayleigh scattering for determining particle morphology

Year: 2022

Authors: Rademacher M., Gosling J., Pontin A., Toros M., Mulder J.T., Houtepen A.J., Barker P.F.

Autors Affiliation: UCL, Dept Phys & Astron, London WC1E 6BT, England; Univ Glasgow, Sch Phys & Astron, Glasgow City G12 8QQ, Scotland; Delft Univ Technol, Fac Appl Sci, Optoelect Mat Sect, NL-2629 HZ Delft, Netherlands.

Abstract: We demonstrate the measurement of nanoparticle anisotropy by angularly resolved Rayleigh scattering of single optical levitated particles that are oriented in space via the trapping light in vacuum. This technique is applied to a range of particle geometries from perfect spherical nanodroplets to octahedral nanocrystals. We show that this method can resolve shape differences down to a few nanometers and be applied in both low-damping environments, as demonstrated here, and in traditional overdamped fluids used in optical tweezers.

Journal/Review: APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS

Volume: 121 (22)      Pages from: 221102-1  to: 221102-6

More Information: M.R., J.G., A.P., and P.F.B. acknowledge funding from the EPSRC via Grant Nos. EP/S000267/1 and EP/W029626/1. M.R., J.G., A.P., J.T.M., A.J.H, and P.F.B. acknowledge funding from the H2020-EU.1.2.1 TEQ Project through Grant Agreement ID 766900. M.T. acknowledges funding by the Leverhulme Trust (No. RPG-2020-197).
KeyWords: Quantum Control
DOI: 10.1063/5.0128606