Combined optical trapping and microphotoluminescence of single InP nanowires

In this letter, we demonstrate that microphotoluminescence may be combined with optical trapping for effective optical characterization of single target InP semiconductor nanowires in suspension. Using this technique, we may investigate structural properties of optically trapped nanowires, such as crystalline polytypes and stacking faults. This arrangement may also be used to resolve structural variations along the axis of the trapped nanowire. These results show that photoluminescence measurements may be coupled with optical tweezers without degrading the performance of the optical trap and provide a powerful interrogation tool for preselection of components for nanowire photonic devices.