Since their invention just over 20 years ago, optical traps have emerged as a powerful tool
with broad-reaching applications in biology and physics. Capabilities have evolved from …

Optical trapping experiments of different complexities are making a significant impact in
biology. This review seeks to highlight design choices for scientists entering the field or …

A new kind of optics has grown up during the last 25 years. Geometrical optics has been
studied for centuries (the law of reflection was known to the ancient Greeks) and wave optics …

We propose a theory to explain optical trapping by optical vortices (OVs), which are
emerging as important tools to trap mesoscopic particles. The common perception is that the …

Abstract This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on optical tweezers, also
known as laser-based, gradient-force optical traps. Journal articles and books are cited for …

We present and verify a theoretical model that predicts trapping forces (escape forces), force
constants (trap stiffnesses), and trapping potential depths for dielectric spheres with …

We report an experimental study concerning the radial forces of an optical tweezers acting
on spherical polystyrene particles diluted in water solution. The radius of the trapped beads …

A theory is presented together with simulation results that describe three-dimensional
position detection of a sphere located in a highly focused beam by back-focal plane …

We derive an exact partial-wave (Mie) expansion of the axial force exerted on a transparent
sphere by a laser beam focused through a high numerical aperture objective. The results …

Mechanical drift is a long-standing problem in optical microscopy that occurs in all three
dimensions. This drift increasingly limits the resolution of advanced surface-coupled, single …