The effect of external forces on discrete motion within holographic optical tweezers

Eriksson, E., Padgett, M. , Keen, S., Leach, J. and Goksör, M. (2007) The effect of external forces on discrete motion within holographic optical tweezers. Optics Express, 15(26), pp. 18268-18274. (doi: 10.1364/OE.15.018268)

Abstract

Holographic optical tweezers is a widely used technique to manipulate the individual positions of optically trapped micron-sized particles in a sample. The trap positions are changed by updating the holographic image displayed on a spatial light modulator. The updating process takes a finite time, resulting in a temporary decrease of the intensity, and thus the stiffness, of the optical trap. We have investigated this change in trap stiffness during the updating process by studying the motion of an optically trapped particle in a fluid flow. We found a highly nonlinear behavior of the change in trap stiffness vs. changes in step size. For step sizes up to approximately 300 nm the trap stiffness is decreasing. Above 300 nm the change in trap stiffness remains constant for all step sizes up to one particle radius. This information is crucial for optical force measurements using holographic optical tweezers.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Padgett, Professor Miles
• Authors: Eriksson, E., Padgett, M., Keen, S., Leach, J., and Goksör, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
• Journal Name: Optics Express
• Publisher: Optical Society of America
• ISSN: 1094-4087
• Published Online: 20 December 2007
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2007 Optical Society of America
• First Published: First published in Optics Express 15 (26): 18268-18274
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the pulisher

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
36288	1	Micro-fluidic analytical systems driven and interrogated with holographic optics	Miles Padgett	Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	GR/S73006/01	Physics and Astronomy