Optical Forces on a Quantum Dot in Metallic Bowtie Structures

We present a numerical scheme to calculate the electromagnetic force on a quantum dot in the near-field of subwavelength metallic nano-structures. As an application, we examine the forces on a quantum dot placed in the center of a gold nano-structure. The forces on the quantum dot are calculated using an adaptive mesh refinement finite-difference time-domain code combined with microscopic material equations. Is is shown that the dot may be laterally confined in the proposed geometry.