Polarization-induced stiffness asymmetry of optical tweezers

A tightly focused, linearly polarized laser beam, so-called optical tweezers, is proven to be a useful micromanipulation tool. It is known that there is a stiffness asymmetry in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis inherited from the polarization state of the laser. In this Letter, we rep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2012-09, Vol.37 (17), p.3519-3521
Main Authors: Madadi, Ebrahim, Samadi, Akbar, Cheraghian, Mojtaba, Reihani, S Nader S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymmetry
Beads
Lasers
Mathematical analysis
Micromanipulation
Microspheres
Optical Phenomena
Optical Tweezers
Optimization
Stiffness
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Summary:A tightly focused, linearly polarized laser beam, so-called optical tweezers, is proven to be a useful micromanipulation tool. It is known that there is a stiffness asymmetry in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis inherited from the polarization state of the laser. In this Letter, we report our experimental results of stiffness asymmetry for different bead sizes measured at the optimal trapping condition. We also provide the results of our generalized Lorenz-Mie based calculations, which are in good agreement with our experimental results. We also compare our results with previous reports.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.37.003519