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17 May 2021 Optical trapping with structured light: a review
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Abstract

Optical trapping describes the interaction between light and matter to manipulate micro-objects through momentum transfer. In the case of 3D trapping with a single beam, this is termed optical tweezers. Optical tweezers are a powerful and noninvasive tool for manipulating small objects, and have become indispensable in many fields, including physics, biology, soft condensed matter, among others. In the early days, optical trapping was typically accomplished with a single Gaussian beam. In recent years, we have witnessed rapid progress in the use of structured light beams with customized phase, amplitude, and polarization in optical trapping. Unusual beam properties, such as phase singularities on-axis and propagation invariant nature, have opened up novel capabilities to the study of micromanipulation in liquid, air, and vacuum. We summarize the recent advances in the field of optical trapping using structured light beams.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Yuanjie Yang, Yuxuan Ren, Mingzhou Chen, Yoshihiko Arita, and Carmelo Rosales-Guzmán "Optical trapping with structured light: a review," Advanced Photonics 3(3), 034001 (17 May 2021). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.AP.3.3.034001
Published: 17 May 2021
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Cited by 388 scholarly publications.
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