Twin-core fiber optical tweezers

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Microfluidics and Nanotechnology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Optical tweezers are crucial tools for manipulating microscopic particles.
• Conventional optical tweezers often require complex setups and precise alignment.
• There is a need for more robust and versatile optical trapping systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel abruptly tapered twin-core fiber optical tweezers.
• To investigate the particle trapping performance of this new fiber design.
• To extend the functionality of fiber-based optical tweezers for particle orientation control.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an abruptly tapered twin-core fiber by fusing and drawing.
• Utilizing the tapered fiber to guide two beams, creating a divergent optical field at the tip.
• Simulating optical field distribution using the Beam Propagation Method (BPM).
• Integrating a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for particle orientation control.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated effective 3D trapping of microscopic particles using the generated gradient force well.
• Achieved controlled orientation of trapped particles via the integrated interferometer.
• The tapered fiber design creates a fast divergent optical field suitable for trapping.

Conclusions:

• The abruptly tapered twin-core fiber optical tweezers offers a rigid, easy-to-handle, and effective solution for micro-particle manipulation.
• This novel system is particularly promising for developing multi-tweezers setups.
• The integrated interferometer extends functionality for precise particle manipulation and orientation control.