Optical tweezers are powerful tools that use light to trap and manipulate microscopic objects. They have a wide range of applications in biology and medicine, but current integrated optical tweezers have limitations. New research discusses a new approach that uses integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs) to overcome these limitations.
The OPA system can trap and tweeze microparticles and cells at much larger distances from the chip surface than previous methods. This significant breakthrough could expand the potential applications of integrated optical tweezers, especially for biological research.
In the past, integrated optical tweezers have been limited by the distance at which they can trap particles. This is because the intensity of the light weakens as it travels away from the chip surface. The new integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs) system overcomes this limitation by using a phased array to create a more uniform light field.
The OPA system consists of a silicon nitride waveguide with a grating coupler at one end. The grating coupler couples light into the waveguide, and the phased array is located at the other end of the waveguide. The phased array is a pattern of tiny antennas that can control the phase of the light. By carefully controlling the phase of the light, the researchers were able to create a light field that traps particles at a distance of several tens of micrometers from the chip surface.
This is a significant improvement over previous methods, which could only trap particles at a distance of a few micrometers. The increased trapping distance could allow integrated optical tweezers to be used for a wider range of applications, such as manipulating cells in microfluidic devices or studying the interactions between cells.
The researchers believe that their new approach could lead to the development of a new generation of integrated optical tweezers with even greater capabilities.
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