Flow-assisted single-beam optothermal manipulation of microparticles
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026
Microparticle Manipulation by Standing Surface Acoustic Waves with Dual-frequency Excitations
Published on: August 21, 2018
1Photonic Device Laboratory, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Abstract:
An optothermal tweezer was developed with a single-beam laser at 1550 nm for manipulation of colloidal microparticles. Strong absorption in water can thermally induce a localized flow, which exerts a Stokes' drag on the particles that complements the gradient force. Long-range capturing of 6 microm polystyrene particles over approximately 176 microm was observed with a tweezing power of approximately 7 mW. Transportation and levitation, targeted deposition and selective levitation of particles were explored to experimentally demonstrate the versatility of the optothermal tweezer as a multipurpose particle manipulation tool.
