Enhancement of recoil optical forces via high-k plasmons on thin metallic films

Abstract: The recoil optical force that acts on emitters near a surface or waveguide relies on near-field directionality and conservation of momentum. It features desirable properties uncommon in optical forces, such as the ability to produce it via wide-area illumination of vast numbers of particles without the need for focusing, or being dynamically switchable via the polarization of light. Unfortunately, these recoil forces are usually very weak and have not been experimentally observed in small dipolar particles. Some works theoretically demonstrate orders-of-magnitude enhancement of these forces via complex nano-structuring involving hyperbolic surfaces or metamaterials, complicating the fabrication and experimental demonstration. In this work, we theoretically and numerically show enhancement of the lateral recoil force by simply using thin metallic films, which support ultra-high-momentum plasmonic modes. The high-momentum carried by these modes impart a correspondingly large recoil force on the dipole, enhancing the force by several orders of magnitude in a remarkably simple geometry, bringing it closer to practical applications.