Optical trapping of silicon nanoparticles in superfluid helium

Abstract

We demonstrated the optical trapping of silicon nanoparticles in superfluid helium. The silicon nanoparticles were produced via in-situ laser ablation in superfluid helium. The dispersed nanoparticles were optically trapped using near-infrared laser light. With the combination of semiconductor material and the wavelength of 1.5 μm, we can strongly suppress the heat generation in superfluid helium. The thermally stable situation provides us with an important platform for studying the fundamental properties of superfluid helium with the aid of the optical manipulation technique.