Showing papers by "David McGloin published in 2013"

Resolving stable axial trapping points of nanowires in an optical tweezers using photoluminescence mapping.

Abstract: Axially resolved microphotoluminescence mapping of semiconductor nanowires held in an optical tweezers reveals important new experimental information regarding equilibrium trapping points and trapping stability of high aspect ratio nanostructures. In this study, holographic optical tweezers are used to scan trapped InP nanowires along the beam direction with respect to a fixed excitation source and the luminescent properties are recorded. It is observed that nanowires with lengths on the range of 3–15 μm are stably trapped near the tip of the wire with the long segment positioned below the focus in an inverted trapping configuration. Through the use of trap multiplexing we investigate the possibility of improving the axial stability of the trapped nanowires. Our results have important implication for applications of optically assisted nanowire assembly and optical tweezers based scanning probes microscopy.

Dye lasing in optically manipulated liquid aerosols.

Abstract: We report lasing in airborne, rhodamine B-doped glycerol-water droplets with diameters ranging between 7.7 and 11.0 μm, which were localized using optical tweezers. While being trapped near the focal point of an infrared laser, the droplets were pumped with a Q-switched green laser. Our experiments revealed nonlinear dependence of the intensity of the droplet whispering gallery modes (WGMs) on the pump laser fluence, indicating dye lasing. The average wavelength of the lasing WGMs could be tuned between 600 and 630 nm by changing the droplet size. These results may lead to new ways of probing airborne particles, exploiting the high sensitivity of stimulated emission to small perturbations in the droplet laser cavity and the gain medium.

Aerosol droplet optical trap loading using surface acoustic wave nebulization

Abstract: We demonstrate the use of surface acoustic wave nebulization (SAWN) to load optical traps. We show that the droplets sizes produced can be tuned by altering the RF frequency applied to the devices, which leads to more control over the sizes of trapped particles. Typically the size distribution of the liquid aerosols delivered using SAWN is smaller than via a standard commercial nebulization device. The ability to trap a range of liquids or small solid particles, not readily accessible using other ultrasonic devices, is also demonstrated both in optical tweezers and dual beam fiber traps.

HoloHands: games console interface for controlling holographic optical manipulation

Abstract: The increasing number of applications for holographic manipulation techniques has sparked the development of more accessible control interfaces. Here, we describe a holographic optical tweezers experiment which is controlled by gestures that are detected by a Microsoft Kinect. We demonstrate that this technique can be used to calibrate the tweezers using the Stokes drag method and compare this to automated calibrations. We also show that multiple particle manipulation can be handled. This is a promising new line of research for gesture-based control which could find applications in a wide variety of experimental situations.

A nano-mechanical study on the influence of ultrasound exposure on cellular elasticity

Abstract: For the purposes of the present study, we are attempting to improve the understanding of the cell-mechanical bioeffects that US exposure promotes. Here we undertake targeted live cell force spectroscopy measurements exploring the induced elasticity changes in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells with varying incident US power. Stiffness, as measured both on and off-nucleus, appears to respond rapidly to US exposure, maximally doubling from quiescent values within 300s in some cases. We also note however that each geometric arrangement of the target cell within its local grouping must be considered on its own merits as the stabilizing effect of its nearest neighbours may influence net measurements.

Dye lasing in optically manipulated liquid aerosols

Abstract: We present dye lasing from optically manipulated glycerol-water aerosols with diameters ranging between 7.7 and 11.0 μm confined in optical tweezers. While being optically trapped near the focal point of an infrared laser, the droplets stained with Rhodamine B were pumped with a Q-switched green laser and their fluorescence emission spectra featuring whispering gallery modes (WGMs) were recorded with a spectrograph. Nonlinear dependence of the intensity of the droplet WGMs on the pump laser fluence indicates dye lasing. The average wavelength of the lasing WGMs could be tuned between 600 and 630 nm by adjusting the droplet size. These results may lead to new ways of probing airborne particles, exploiting the high sensitivity of stimulated emission to small perturbations in the droplet laser cavity and the gain medium.

Introduction: Optical trapping and applications feature issue.

Abstract: The editors introduce the Biomedical Optics Express feature issue on “Optical Trapping and Applications.” The works presented in the papers within this issue include were the focus of the third OTA Topical Meeting that was held on April 14–18, 2013, in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Axial Localization Improvements when Trapping Aerosol Droplets using an Annular Beam

Abstract: We demonstrate that annular beam traps lead to an increased size range and improved axial trapping of aerosols in comparison to Gaussian beam traps. These methods are extended to consider ionic liquid samples.