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Updated: May 14, 2026

Optical Trap Loading of Dielectric Microparticles In Air
Published on: February 5, 2017
Mie scattering by a charged dielectric particle
R L Heinisch1, F X Bronold, H Fehske
1Institut für Physik, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, 17489 Greifswald, Germany.
Abstract:
We study for a dielectric particle the effect of surplus electrons on the anomalous scattering of light arising from the transverse optical phonon resonance in the particle's dielectric function. Excess electrons affect the polarizability of the particle by their phonon-limited conductivity, either in a surface layer (negative electron affinity) or the conduction band (positive electron affinity). We show that surplus electrons shift an extinction resonance in the infrared. This offers an optical way to measure the charge of the particle and to use it in a plasma as a minimally invasive electric probe.
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