Related papers: Attonewton force detection using microspheres in a…
Optically trapped nanospheres in high-vaccum experience little friction and hence are promising for ultra-sensitive force detection. Here we demonstrate measurement times exceeding $10^5$ seconds and zeptonewton force sensitivity with…
We propose an experiment using optically trapped and cooled dielectric microspheres for the detection of short-range forces. The center-of-mass motion of a microsphere trapped in vacuum can experience extremely low dissipation and quality…
A high sensitivity force sensor based on dielectric microspheres in vacuum, optically trapped by a single, upward-propagating laser beam, is described. Off-axis parabolic mirrors are used both to focus the 1064~nm trapping beam and to…
All physical interactions are mediated by forces. Ultra-sensitive force measurements are therefore a crucial tool for investigating the fundamental physics of magnetic, atomic, quantum, and surface phenomena. Laser cooled trapped atomic…
Orbital optical trapping of a dielectric micro-particle in air was studied experimentally using a lensed, counter-propagating dual-beam trap, and by numerical simulations employing ray optics. The essential attributes of particle dynamics…
The center-of-mass motion of optically trapped dielectric nanoparticles in vacuum is extremely well-decoupled from its environment, making a powerful tool for measurements of feeble sub-attonewton forces. We demonstrate a method to trap and…
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 so-called Dark Focus Tweezer. Results from…
The dual-fiber optical trap, owing to its high sensitivity and facile miniaturization, holds significant actual application value in fields such as high-precision metrology of mechanical quantities and biological manipulation. The…
Levitated optomechanical systems, and particularly particles trapped in vacuum, provide unique platforms for studying the mechanical behavior of objects well-isolated from their environment. Ultimately, such systems may enable the study of…
We report on the use of 4.7-$\mu$m-diameter, optically levitated, charged microspheres to image the three-dimensional force field produced by charge distributions on an Au-coated, microfabricated Si beam in vacuum. An upward-propagating,…
Optically trapped Silica nanoparticles are a promising tool for precise sensing of gravitational or inertial forces and fundamental physics, including tests of quantum mechanics at 'large' mass scales. This field, called levitated…
This paper demonstrates cooling of the center-of-mass motion of 10 $\mu$m-diameter optically levitated silica spheres to an effective temperature of $50\pm22 \mu$K, achieved by minimizing the technical pointing noise of the trapping laser.…
Using a two-dipole model of an optical near-field of Scanning Near-field Optical Microscope tip, i. e. taking into account contributions of magnetic and electric dipoles, we propose and analyze a new type of 3D optical nanotrap found for…
Optically-levitated dielectric particles can serve as ultra-sensitive detectors of feeble forces and torques, as tools for use in quantum information science, and as a testbed for quantum coherence in macroscopic systems. Knowledge of the…
We demonstrate thermally limited force spectroscopy using a probe formed by a dielectric microsphere optically trapped in water near a dielectric surface. We achieve force resolution below 1 fN in 100 s, corresponding to a 2 {\AA} rms…
The superposition of a Gaussian mode and a Laguerre-Gauss mode with $\ell=0,p\neq0$ generates the so-called bottle beam: a dark focus surrounded by a bright region. In this paper, we theoretically explore the use of bottle beams as an…
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel optical method for trapping and cooling dielectric nanospheres at (sub)-micron distances from a reflective metallic surface. By translating a tilted mirror towards the focus of a single-beam…
The subject of this review are atom traps based on optical dipole forces in laser fields, along with their unique features as storage devices at ultralow energies. The basic physics of the dipole interaction is discussed, and the…
We report on highly effective trapping of cold atoms by a new method for a stable single optical trap in the near-optical resonant regime. An optical trap with the near-optical resonance condition consists of not only the dipole but also…
We report on a search for non-Newtonian forces that couple to mass, with a characteristic scale of ${\sim}10~\mu$m, using an optically levitated microsphere as a precision force sensor. A silica microsphere trapped in an upward-propagating,…