Holographic optical trapping

Abstract

Holographic optical tweezers use computer-generated holograms to create arbitrary three-dimensional configurations of single-beam optical traps useful for capturing, moving and transforming mesoscopic objects. Through a combination of beam-splitting, mode forming, and adaptive wavefront correction, holographic traps can exert precisely specified and characterized forces and torques on objects ranging in size from a few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers. With nanometer-scale spatial resolution and real-time reconfigurability, holographic optical traps offer extraordinary access to the microscopic world and already have found applications in fundamental research and industrial applications.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, invited contribution to Applied Optics focus issue on Digital Holograph