Related papers: Collecting single molecules with conventional opti…
Experimental observations suggest that there are differences between the behavior of particles optically trapped in air and trapped in a liquid phase. We present a modified version of Mie Debye Spherical Aberration theory to numerically…
It is known that line optical tweezers (LOT) can measure potential of mean force (PMF) between colloidal particles in the bulk. However, PMF obtained with LOT is empirically modified before showing the result of the final form in order to…
We report on a novel bichromatic fluorescent imaging scheme for background-free detection of single CaF molecules trapped in an optical tweezer array. By collecting fluorescence on one optical transition while using another for…
Optical tweezers are highly versatile laser traps for neutral microparticles, with fundamental applications in physics and in single molecule cell biology. Force measurements are performed by converting the stiffness response to…
We propose to repeatedly load laser-cooled molecules into optical tweezers, and transfer them to storage states that are rotationally excited by two additional quanta. Collisional loss of molecules in these storage states is suppressed, and…
Precise control of particle positioning is desirable in many optical propulsion and sorting applications. Here, we develop an integrated platform for particle manipulation consisting of a combined optical nanofiber and optical tweezers…
We demonstrate the formation of a single RbCs molecule during the merging of two optical tweezers, one containing a single Rb atom and the other a single Cs atom. Both atoms are initially predominantly in the motional ground states of their…
We demonstrate the trapping of elastic particles by the large gradient force of a single acoustical beam in three dimensions. Acoustical tweezers can push, pull and accurately control both the position and the forces exerted on a unique…
We present a novel approach to determine the optical properties of materials in the nanoscale range using optical tweezers (OT). Fluorescent polymer-based nanostructures (pdots) are optically trapped in a Gaussian beam OT and the trap…
Optical detection of structures with dimensions smaller than an optical wavelength requires devices that work on scales beyond the diffraction limit. Here we present the possibility of using a tapered optical nanofiber as a detector to…
Optical tweezers confine a particle in an intensity-defined potential well by engaging its local multipoles. In this picture, eliminating far-field scattering from the particle should cancel the optical force, as the multipole moments…
We present a dual-trap optical tweezers setup which directly measures forces using linear momentum conservation. The setup uses a counter-propagating geometry, which allows momentum measurement on each beam separately. The experimental…
We show how state-dependent optical potentials can be used to trap a pair of molecules in different internal states at a separation much smaller than the wavelength of the trapping light. This close spacing greatly enhances the…
Optical tweezers use laser light to trap and move microscopic particles in space. Here we demonstrate a similar control over ultrashort light pulses, but in time. Our experiment involves temporal cavity solitons that are stored in a passive…
Optical tweezers (OT) have become an essential technique in several fields of physics, chemistry, and biology as precise micromanipulation tools and microscopic force transducers. Quantitative measurements require the accurate calibration…
We demonstrate the realization of (laterally) optically bounded colloidal structures on a liquid-liquid interface of an emulsion droplet. We use DNA tethers to graft the particles to the droplet surface, effectively confining them to a…
This preliminary study presents a simple modulation scheme to dynamically create time-averaged optical potentials to trap colloidal particles using acousto-optical modulation. The method provides access to control experimentally relevant…
3D pitch rotation of microparticles and cells assumes importance in a wide variety of applications in biology, physics, chemistry and medicine. Applications such as cell imaging and injection benefit from pitch-rotational manipulation.…
A nanofiber-based optical tweezer is demonstrated. Trapping is achieved by combining attractive near-field optical gradient forces with repulsive electrostatic forces. Silica-coated Fe$_2$O$_3$ nanospheres of 300 diameter are trapped as…
Emulsions are ubiquitous in everyday life and find applications in various industries. Optical tweezers (OTs) have emerged as the preferred method for studying emulsion dynamics. In this review, we first introduce the theory of optical…