Generation of sub-half-wavelength micro-optical traps by dichroic evanescent standing waves

The bi-dimensional optical lattices formed by several sets of laser evanescent standing waves propagating at the surface of a dielectric prism are investigated. The characteristics of the optical traps including their depths and the sizes are analysed. It is shown that the micro-optical lattice with a sub-half-wavelength size can be achieved by the interference of the selected evanescent waves. The scheme together with the recently developed atomic chip may be used for atomic quantum manipulation.