Abstract

Optical forces and trapping may dictate the organization and manipulation of colloidal and biological matter at the nanoscopic through to macroscopic level. Advanced photonics using novel holographic beam shaping to alter the phase and/or amplitude of light has become an important feature in this topic area. By creating more elaborate 2D and 3D light patterns (beam shaping) one can create an optical landscape. Particle and cellular motion on such a landscape will enhancing our ability to move and sort particles and importantly, create 2D and 3D arrays of micro and nanoparticles [1, 2]. The use of “shaped” light fields such as Bessel and Airy modes have continued to play a key role in the field as well as the ability to propagate light through turbid media (disordered materials) [3]. Finally exploiting optical angular momentum can assist in realising new methods of performing microrheology of gases [4]

[1] K. Dholakia and T. Cizmar, Nature Photonics 5, 335-342 (2011). [2] M. Ploschner, M. Mazilu, T. Cizmár, and K. Dholakia, Opt. Express 19, 13922-13933 (2011) [3] T. Cizmar, M. Mazilu, and K. Dholakia, Nature Photonics 4, 388—394 (2010) [4] Y. Arita, A. W. McKinley, M. Mazilu, H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, and K. Dholakia, Anal. Chem. 83, 8855 (2011).