Optical trapping near a photonic crystal

We show that the photonic confinement induced by a photonic crystal can be exploited to trap nanoparticles. As demonstrated by the recent advances in the design and fabrication of photonic crystals slab structures, total internal reflection and multiple scattering can be combined to confine photons very efficiently. A consequence of this confinement is the existence of strong gradients of electromagnetic intensity in the near-field of the photonic structure. Hence, a nanoparticle placed in the vicinity of the crystal would experience an optical force which, with a proper design of the near-field optical landscape, can lead to trapping.