Systematical study of the trapping forces of optical tweezers formed by different types of optical ring beams

The technique of optical tweezers has been improved a lot since its invention, which extends the application fields of optical tweezers. Besides the conventionally used Gaussian beams, different types of ring beams have also been used to form optical tweezers for different purposes. The two typical kinds of ring beams used in optical tweezers are the hollow Gaussian beam and Laguerre--Gaussian (LG) beam. Both theoretical computation and experiments have shown that the axial trapping force is improved for the ring beams compared with the Gaussian beam, and hence the trapping stability is improved, although the transverse trapping forces of ring beams are smaller than that of Gaussian beam. However, no systematic study on the trapping forces of ring beam has ever been discussed. In this article, we will investigate the axial and transverse trapping forces of different types of ring beams with different parameters systematically, by numerical computation in which the ray optics model is adopted. The spherical aberration caused by the refractive index mismatch between oil and water is also considered in the article. The trapping forces for different objectives that obey the sine condition and tangent condition are also compared with each other. The result of systematical calculation will be useful for the applications of optical tweezers formed by different types of ring beams.     

Optical tweezers technique and its applications

Since their advent in the 1980s,optical tweezers have attracted more and more attention due to their unique non-contact and non-invasion characteristics and their wide applications in physics,biology,chemistry,medical science and nanoscience.In this paper,we introduce the basic principle,the history and typical applications of optical tweezers and review our recent experimental works on the development and application of optical tweezers technique.We will discuss in detail several technological issues,including high precision displacement and force measurement in single-trap and dual-trap optical tweezers,multi-trap optical tweezers with each trap independently and freely controlled by means of space light modulator,and incorporation of cylindrical vector optical beams to build diversified optical tweezers beyond the conventional Gaussian-beam optical tweezers.We will address the application of these optical tweezers techniques to study biophysical problems such as mechanical deformation of cell membrane and binding energy between plant microtubule and microtubule associated proteins.Finally we present application of the optical tweezers technique for trapping,transporting,and patterning of metallic nanoparticles,which can be harnessed to manipulate surface plasmon resonance properties of these nanoparticles.     

Probing Dual Asymmetric Transverse Spin Angular Momentum in Tightly Focused Vector Beams in Optical Tweezers

The spin-orbit interaction (SOI) of light generated by tight focusing in optical tweezers is regularly employed in generating angular momentum - both spin and orbital - the effects being extensively observed in trapped mesoscopic particles. Specifically, the transverse spin angular momentum (TSAM), which arises due to the longitudinal component of the electromagnetic field generated by tight focusing is of special interest, both in terms of fundamental studies and associated applications. This study provides an effective and optimal strategy for generating TSAM in optical tweezers by tightly focusing first-order radially and azimuthally polarized vector beams with no intrinsic angular momentum (AM) into a refractive index stratified medium. The choice of such input fields ensures that the longitudinal spin angular momentum (LSAM) arising from the electric (magnetic) field for the radial (azimuthal) polarization is zero. As a result, the effects of the electric and magnetic TSAM are exclusively observed separately in the case of input first-order radially and azimuthally polarized vector beams on single optically trapped birefringent particles. This research opens up new and simple avenues for exotic and complex particle manipulation in optical tweezers.     

Shaping super-Gaussian beam through digital micro-mirror device

We have set up a novel system for shaping the Gaussian laser beams into super-Gaussian beams.The digital micro-mirror device(DMD)is able to modulate the laser light spatially through binary-amplitude modulation mechanism.With DMD,the irradiance of the laser beam can be redistributed flexibly and various beams with different intensity distribution can be produced.A super-Gaussian beam has been successfully shaped from the Gaussian beam with the use of DMD.This technique will be widely applied in lithography,quantum emulation and holographic optical tweezers which require precise control of beam profile.     

基于扭曲向列液晶空间光调制器的矢量光生成

基于扭曲向列型液晶空间光调制器的旋光特性, 根据空间光调制器所加电压和加载相位与旋光角度的对应关系, 设计了可以生成多种涡旋矢量光的通用光路. 利用该原理和光路系统, 在实验上生成了多种携带轴对称相位的矢量光以及图案般复杂的矢量光, 观察和检测了它们的偏振特性, 获得了较好的实验结果. 并且模拟了具有涡旋相位的矢量光的紧聚焦场, 分析了它们的紧聚焦特性. 由于这种生成矢量光的方法光路装置简单、操作容易, 产生矢量光的过程中几乎不损失能量, 并且不存在聚焦过程, 因此在如强激光矢量光束与物质相互作用、激光加速等方面具有重要的应用潜力.     

泽尼克多项式校正全息阵列光镊像差的实验研究

像差会影响光镊对粒子的捕获效果. 全息阵列光镊中, 像差不仅来自光学元件, 由特定算法设计的光阱相位片也会在光路中引入像差. 本文通过液晶空间光调制器加载泽尼克多项式相位图, 对全息阵列光镊中由光栅透镜组型算法引起的像差进行校正. 结果显示: 利用三阶泽尼克多项式可有效消除光路中由光栅透镜组型算法引 起的慧差, 使得捕获2 μm聚苯乙烯小球的阵列光阱刚度提高了约40%; 对比不同项的像差校正结果发现, 全息阵列光镊中由算法引起的慧差 与光学元件引起的像差一样, 也会对阵列光阱的捕获效果产生较大影响; 同时根据一阶像差校正结果可得光栅透镜 组型算法对于一阶泽尼克像差具有鲁棒性. 实验结果表明, 对全息阵列光镊中由 算法引起的像差进行校正, 对于提高光阱的捕获效果和深化对算法特性的认识都具有重要意义.     

Multiple bottle beams based on metasurface optical field modulation and their capture of multiple atoms

Compared to conventional devices, metasurfaces offer the advantages of being lightweight, with planarization and tuning flexibility. This provides a new way to integrate and miniaturize optical systems. In this paper, a metasurface capable of generating multiple bottle beams was designed. Based on the Pancharatnam-Berry (P-B) phase principle, the metasurface lens can accurately control the wavefront by adjusting the aspect ratio of the titanium dioxide nanopillars and the rotation angle. When irradiated by left-handed circularly polarized light with a wavelength of 632.8 nm, the optical system can produce multiple micron bottle beams. Taking two bottle beams as examples, the longitudinal full widths at half-maximum of the optical tweezers can reach 0.85 μ and 1.12 μ, respectively, and the transverse full widths at half-maximum can reach 0.46 μ and 0.6 μ. Also, the number of generated bottle beams can be varied by controlling the size of the annular obstacle. By changing the x-component of the unit rotation angle, the metasurface can also change the shape of the bottle beam — the beam cross-section can be changed from circular to elliptical. This paper also analyzes the trapping of ytterbium atoms by the multi bottle beam acting as optical tweezers. It is found that the multi bottle beam can cool and trap multiple ytterbium atoms.     

多环涡旋光束的实验研究

涡旋光束的产生、传输与应用是当前光学领域热门的研究课题之一.本文提出的新型多环涡旋光束,包括双环涡旋及三环涡旋光束,它是由多束携带不同拓扑电荷数且束腰半径不同的拉盖尔-高斯涡旋光束共轴叠加而成,其光强分布为多环结构.从理论上研究了多环涡旋光束的形成与分布特征,基于共轭对称延拓Fourier计算全息方法生成了多环涡旋光束的计算全息图,并利用一个空间光调制器实验产生了与理论一致的高质量的多环涡旋光束.研究表明多环涡旋光束的各环携带不同的轨道角动量,空间分布保持相互独立.这种新型的多环涡旋光束相对于携带单一拓扑电荷数的涡旋光束,提供了更多的控制参数和更加多样化的结构分布,因此在光学镊子、光学捕获等微操控以及光通信领域具有潜在的应用潜力.     

Phase-transition-like properties of double-beam optical tweezers

We report on double-beam optical tweezers that undergo previously unknown phase-transition-like behavior resulting in the formation of more optical traps than the number of beams used to create them. We classify the optical force fields which produce multiple traps for a double-beam system including the critical behavior. This effect is demonstrated experimentally in orthogonally polarized (noninterfering) dual-beam optical tweezers for a silica particle of 2.32 μm diameter. Phase transitions of multiple beam trapping systems have implications for hopping rates between traps and detection of forces between biomolecules using dual-beam optical tweezers. It is an example of a novel dynamic system with multiple states where force fields undergo a series of sign inversions as a function of parameters such as size and beam separation.     

Evolution of self-healing characteristic on optical Airy beam

We investigate and analyze the evolution of self-healing characteristic on diffraction-free Airy beams. We also show that different internal structure of Airy beams contribute to self-healing by breaking the integrity of Airy beams. A numerical simulation is performed and demonstrate that each independent structure undertakes different roles. It is believed that the intriguing characteristic of Airy beams can be applied in many fields such as optical tweezers, atom trapping and manipulating.     

时域有限差分法数值仿真单光镊中微球受到的光阱力

本文采用三维时域有限差分法(FDTD)和Maxwell应力张量法建立了单光镊在焦点附近俘获球形微粒的光阱力模型,采用基于球矢量波函数(VSWF)的五阶高斯光源作为仿真光源,得到了准确的光场传播.讨论了光源的波长、束腰、偏振态和微球的半径、折射率对光阱力的影响,分析了在单光镊俘获微球时,邻近微球对光阱力的影响.特别研究了光源的偏振态对微球所受光阱力的作用效果,仿真结果表明圆偏振光比线偏振光对微球的俘获力更大;被光镊稳定俘获的微球,会受到邻近微球干扰,失去平衡状态,改变光源的偏振态可以改变微球的受力状态. 关键词： 光镊 光阱力 介质微球 时域有限差分法(FDTD)     

Controlling ghost traps in holographic optical tweezers

Computer-generated holograms displayed by phase-modulating spatial light modulators have become a well-established tool for beam shaping purposes in holographic optical tweezers. Still, the generation of light intensity patterns with high spatial symmetry and simultaneously without interfering ghost traps is a challenge. We have implemented an iterative Fourier transform algorithm that is capable of controlling these ghost traps and demonstrate the benefit of this approach in the experiment.     

Entangled double-helix phase

We present a novel phase with an entangled double-helix structure. Beams with this phase have the same transverse patterns as those of interference between two doughnut beams. This proposed method allows a complete set of the superpositions of the doughnut modes or the orbital angular momentum states with different topological orders to be obtained. Furthermore, it introduces a simple continuous and controlled rotation of the transverse patterns by use of a spatial light modulator. It can be used to form a three-dimensional structure by three-dimensional trapping in an optical tweezers setup or to study the quantum characteristics of an optical vortex.     

Optical doughnut for optical tweezers

We describe novel optical doughnuts for optical tweezers. With new phase functions, the proposed doughnut beams have dark cores in specified shapes. The technique can offer a simple method for creating a variety of beam shapes to match the trapped objects. One can rotate the beams directly by revolving their phase structures about their axes on the initial plane. The technique for generating the traditional Laguerre-Gaussian beam can be used to create these novel beams.     

Rotation of multimodal Gauss–Laguerre light beams in free space and in a fiber

A gradient algorithm is proposed for design of phase diffractive optical elements (DOEs) that can form the light beams being effectively a superposition of a small number of nonradially symmetric Gauss–Laguerre modes with a preset energy contribution of each mode. We show that under certain conditions there is a rotation of the cross-section of such light beams. The rotation of multimodal Gauss–Laguerre light beams propagating in a fiber with quadratic dependence of the refractive index is discussed.     

阶变折射率轴棱锥产生局域空心光束

提出利用折射率成阶跃性变化的轴棱锥产生局域空心光束(bottlebeam).讨论了折射率沿径向成阶跃式减小或增加两种模型,从几何光学角度分析了它们产生bottle beam的原理,利用衍射积分理论数值模拟两种轴棱锥光传输的光场分布和不同距离处的二维光斑图,研究结果表明折射率沿径向阶跃减小的轴棱锥产生单个bottle beam,而折射率沿径向阶跃增加的轴棱锥产生具有周期再现的bottle beams.bottle beam在原子引导和囚禁、光学俘获及光镊等方面有广泛的应用,因此本文的研究对bottlebeam的产生和实际应用具有指导意义.     

Interfering Bessel beams for optical micromanipulation

We examine the properties of interfering high-order Bessel beams. We implement an experimental setup that allows us to realize these interferograms, using interfering Laguerre-Gaussian beams and an axicon. We demonstrate the use of such beams for controlled rotation of microscopic particles in optical tweezers and rotators. The self-healing properties of interfering Bessel beams allow the simultaneous manipulation and rotation of particles in spatially separated sample cells.     

The angular momentum of light: optical spanners and the rotational frequency shift

An introduction is given to the concepts of the spin and orbital angular momentum of light beams. Both spin and orbital angular momentum can be transferred from a light beam to particles held within optical tweezers, so forming an optical spanner. Each also give rise to a frequency shift when the light beam is rotated. This arises because quarter or half-wave plates and /2 or mode converters play equivalent roles for spin and orbital angular momentum respectively.     

Multiple beam ring interference: A master curve for interference pattern design

A Master Curve, capable of describing all possible configurations, was deduced by using the so-called Wigner Distribution Function, for a cylindrically-symmetric array of interfering beams, of the type utilized nowadays for optical tweezers and multiple-beam interference optical cages.     

利用光镊技术演示光的自旋角动量

阐述了光与物体相互作用时自旋角动量的传递与扭力矩原理.基于光镊光致旋转原理,利用能够悬浮单个粒子的光镊技术并采用具有双折射特性的CaCO3晶体粒子,设计了微粒在不同偏振光场中的旋转运动实验内容,研究光与双折射晶体粒子相互作用产生的光致旋转效应,观察和测量由自旋角动量引起粒子的扭转力矩的大小、方向以及旋转速度等力学效应.