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Lab on a Chip

Microfluidic & nanofluidic technologies for chemistry, physics, biology, and bioengineering




Technical Note

Lab Chip, 2006, 6, 1545 - 1547, DOI: 10.1039/b608669a


Optical force field mapping in microdevices

Gregor Knöner, Adrian Ratnapala, Timo A. Nieminen, Chris J. Vale, Norman R. Heckenberg and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop


We present a method for characterizing microscopic optical force fields. Two dimensional vector force maps are generated by measuring the optical force applied to a probe particle for a grid of particle positions. The method is used to map out the force field created by the beam from a lensed fiber inside a liquid filled microdevice. We find transverse gradient forces and axial scattering forces on the order of 2 pN per 10 mW laser power which are constant over a considerable axial range (>35 µm). These findings suggest future useful applications of lensed fibers for particle guiding/sorting. The propulsion of a small particle at a constant velocity of 200 µm s–1 is shown.

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