CRYSTALLIZATION OF DIELECTRIC SPHERES IN LASER STANDING WAVE FIELD

Experimental study on crystallization of polystyrene spheres and SrTiO₃ particles in laser standing wave field is presented. The diameter of polystyrene, which are able to be trapped, is 7 times smaller than that reported by Burns, the corresponding lattice constant is reduced to 1.5 μm. The crystallization effect of SrTiO₃ particles with a refractive coastant of 2.5 in the visible range is observed for the first time. Based on the results above we believe that it is possible to construct photonic crystal with lattice constant extended to visible wave range by this method.