Trapping Microparticles in a Structured Dark Focus
Felipe Almeida, I. Sousa, Oscar Kremer, B. Pinheiro da Silva, D. S. Tasca, A. Z. Khoury, Guilherme P. Temporão, Thiago Guerreiro
Abstract
We experimentally demonstrate stable trapping and controlled manipulation of silica microspheres in a structured optical beam consisting of a dark focus surrounded by light in all directions-the dark focus tweezer. Results from power spectrum and potential analysis demonstrate the nonharmonicity of the trapping potential landscape, which is reconstructed from experimental data in agreement to Lorentz-Mie numerical simulations. Applications of the dark tweezer in levitated optomechanics and biophysics are discussed.
Topics & Concepts
Optical tweezersOptomechanicsTrappingFocus (optics)PhysicsOpticsBeam (structure)EcologyResonatorBiologyOrbital Angular Momentum in OpticsMechanical and Optical ResonatorsMicrofluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies