Circular polarization dependent demultiplexing of molecular traps in intertwined Fibonacci spirals.

Optical traps with packing efficiency > 80% are realized based on a highly rotational symmetric metastructure consisting of intertwined Fibonacci spirals. Interestingly, a doubly degenerate state is explored, and lifting degeneracy between the clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) distributed hot spots is achieved by launching right/left circularly polarized (R/LCP) light at the resonant wavelength. The spatially demultiplexed hot spots act as molecular traps that exhibit trapping potentials > 10 kBT subject to a moderate illumination intensity I = 15 mW/µm2, showing their capability to stably trap molecules at room temperatures. The scattered patterns from opposed spirals are distinguishable, which offers a real-time assessment of the trapping phenomena. This study provides chiral selective molecular traps with achiral structures that outperform existing research in terms of packing efficiency, signal readout, and design novelty.