Constructing a Simple and Versatile Optical Tweezer, Poster 21

Optical tweezing combines diverse physical phenomena with a relatively low-cost and accessible experimental setup making it particularly valuable in an undergraduate setting. We construct an optical tweezers to trap and... [ view full abstract ]

Optical tweezing combines diverse physical phenomena with a relatively low-cost and accessible experimental setup making it particularly valuable in an undergraduate setting. We construct an optical tweezers to trap and manipulate suspended micron-scale solid balls using a near infrared laser. We hope to characterize the strength of the trap at various laser powers by observing the trapped sphere’s displacement in a known drag force.