Lateral Optical Force On Chiral Particles Near a Surface

Light can exert radiation pressure on any object it encounters and that resulting optical force can be used to manipulate particles. It is commonly assumed that light should move a particle forward and indeed an incident plane wave with a photon momentum ħk can only push any particle, independent of its properties, in the direction of k. Here we demonstrate, using full-wave simulations, that an anomalous lateral force can be induced in a direction perpendicular to that of the incident photon momentum if a chiral particle is placed above a substrate that does not break any left–right symmetry. Analytical theory shows that the lateral force emerges from the coupling between structural chirality (the handedness of the chiral particle) and the light reflected from the substrate surface. Such coupling induces a sideway force that pushes chiral particles with opposite handedness in opposite directions.
Light carries momentum and therefore can be used to push small particles forward. Here, Wang and Chan demonstrate that under the right conditions a light beam can also exert sideway forces on chiral particles.