Resonant Enhancement of Forces in Optical Tweezer Traps

Since the 1970s light has been used to trap, control and manipulate particles on the micro and nanoscales. In particular optical tweezer traps have been used in applications in biology, chemistry, engineering and physics. Given the current emphasis on nanotechnology, applications continue to arise where nano and sub nano-precision are desired. The ability to use optical tweezers to confine smaller particles and manipulate these particles with greater precision is of interest. Unfortunately, the trapping force in optical tweezers scales approximately with the volume of the particle, making it more difficult to trap smaller particles. I will discuss a method that we are currently exploring that uses optical resonances of the particle to increase the trapping force.