2018/03/13 by R. C. Diehl, Diehl, Rozenn, Erik Hebestreit +9
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic and Optical Devices
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1803.04917
openalex publication_date 2018/03/13 · openalex created_date 2018/03/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The controllable positioning of a vacuum-levitated object near a material surface is of importance for studying short-range forces, such as Casimir forces, interfacial friction forces, or gravity in yet unexplored parameter regimes. Here we optically levitate a nanoparticle in a laser beam strongly focused on a dielectric membrane. By investigating the motion of the trapped particle in vacuum, we map the position-dependent optical potential of the particle. We interferometrically measure the distance between the particle and the surface and demonstrate stable trapping in sub-wavelength proximity of the dielectric surface. Our work is important for the development of on-chip levitated optomechanics and for measuring short-range forces at sub-wavelength distances.