Journal ArticleDOI
Simultaneous micromanipulation in multiple planes using a self-reconstructing light beam
TLDR
Bessel beams do not diverge and, furthermore, if part of the beam is obstructed or distorted the beam reconstructs itself after a characteristic propagation distance, which may be utilized within optical tweezers to trap particles in multiple, spatially separated sample cells with a single beam.Abstract:
Optical tweezers1 are commonly used for manipulating microscopic particles, with applications in cell manipulation2, colloid research3,4,5, manipulation of micromachines6 and studies of the properties of light beams7. Such tweezers work by the transfer of momentum from a tightly focused laser to the particle, which refracts and scatters the light and distorts the profile of the beam. The forces produced by this process cause the particle to be trapped near the beam focus. Conventional tweezers use gaussian light beams, which cannot trap particles in multiple locations more than a few micrometres apart in the axial direction, because of beam distortion by the particle and subsequent strong divergence from the focal plane. Bessel beams8,9, however, do not diverge and, furthermore, if part of the beam is obstructed or distorted the beam reconstructs itself after a characteristic propagation distance10. Here we show how this reconstructive property may be utilized within optical tweezers to trap particles in multiple, spatially separated sample cells with a single beam. Owing to the diffractionless nature of the Bessel beam, secondary trapped particles can reside in a second sample cell far removed (∼3 mm) from the first cell. Such tweezers could be used for the simultaneous study of identically prepared ensembles of colloids and biological matter, and potentially offer enhanced control of ‘lab-on-a-chip’ and optically driven microstructures.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
A revolution in optical manipulation
TL;DR: This research presents the next generation of single-beam optical traps, which promise to take optical tweezers out of the laboratory and into the mainstream of manufacturing and diagnostics and even become consumer products.
Journal ArticleDOI
Photonic crystal fibers
TL;DR: In this article, a periodic array of microscopic air holes that run along the entire fiber length are used to guide light by corralling it within a periodic arrays of microscopic holes.
Journal ArticleDOI
Optically mediated particle clearing using Airy wavepackets
TL;DR: In this paper, the use of Airy beams is exploited for transport of particles along curved paths without moving the light beam, a technique that seems poised for many microfluidic applications especially in the biological sciences.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rapid three-dimensional isotropic imaging of living cells using Bessel beam plane illumination
Thomas A. Planchon,Liang Gao,Daniel E. Milkie,Michael W. Davidson,James A. Galbraith,Catherine G. Galbraith,Eric Betzig +6 more
TL;DR: Scanned Bessel beams are used in conjunction with structured illumination and/or two-photon excitation to create thinner light sheets better suited to three-dimensional (3D) subcellular imaging.
Journal ArticleDOI
Self-healing properties of optical Airy beams
TL;DR: This work investigates both theoretically and experimentally the self-healing properties of accelerating Airy beams and shows that this class of waves tends to reform during propagation in spite of the severity of the imposed perturbations.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Observation of a single-beam gradient force optical trap for dielectric particles
TL;DR: Optical trapping of dielectric particles by a single-beam gradient force trap was demonstrated for the first reported time, confirming the concept of negative light pressure due to the gradient force.
Journal ArticleDOI
Methods of Digital Video Microscopy for Colloidal Studies
John C. Crocker,David G. Grier +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, a set of image processing algorithms for extracting quantitative data from digitized video microscope images of colloidal suspensions is described, which can locate submicrometer spheres to within 10 nm in the focal plane and 150 nm in depth.
Journal ArticleDOI
Diffraction-free beams.
TL;DR: The first experimental investigation of nondiffracting beams, with beam spots as small as a few wavelengths, can exist and propagate in free space, is reported.
Journal ArticleDOI
Overstretching B-DNA: The Elastic Response of Individual Double-Stranded and Single-Stranded DNA Molecules
TL;DR: DsDNA molecules in aqueous buffer undergo a highly cooperative transition into a stable form with 5.8 angstroms rise per base pair, that is, 70% longer than B-form dsDNA, which may play a significant role in the energetics of DNA recombination.