Two- and three-beam interferometric optical tweezers

Casaburi, A. , Pesce, G., Zemánek, P. and Sasso, A. (2005) Two- and three-beam interferometric optical tweezers. Optics Communications, 251(4-6), pp. 393-404. (doi: 10.1016/j.optcom.2005.03.029)

Abstract

We present an experimental demonstration of multiple optical tweezers based on interference of two co-propagating beams that intersect at a given angle and form interference fringes (asymmetric optical traps) at the focal plane of a focusing lens. Since this arrangement provides only two-dimensional trapping when the objects are pushed against the coverglass, we added the third counter-propagating beam. This beam did not interfere with the previous two but compensated their radiation pressure. Therefore, stable three-dimensional confinement into multiple fringes is achieved. We quantified experimentally the maximal optical forces exerted on 1 μm polystyrene bead in both configurations and compared them with theoretical predictions. Reasonable good coincidence was found especially for two-dimensional trapping.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Casaburi, Dr Alessandro
• Authors: Casaburi, A., Pesce, G., Zemánek, P., and Sasso, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: Optics Communications
• ISSN: 0030-4018