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PI Physik Instrumente - Revolution In Photonics Align LW LB 3/24

Laser trapping gets tighter grip on larger particles

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Jörg [email protected]

Using light to trap particles as small as atoms has been popular with researchers for some time, a technique that enables optical cooling and trapping, as recognized by the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics. Now trapping of bigger particles has moved up on the agenda, with potential applications in biological systems research or nanotechnology – although grabbing larger pieces is more challenging because light generates forces in the piconewton (pN = 10—12 N) range only. Researchers from Israel’s Pixer Technology Ltd., now part of Carl Zeiss SMT, and from St. Petersburg State University have...Read full article

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    Published: March 2010
    Glossary
    laser trapping
    A technique for confining atoms, molecules or small particles within one or more laser beams. This can be accomplished through the use of a single focused beam or multiple intersecting beams. With a single focused beam, the matter is confined to the laser beam's focal area. In the case of multiple intersecting beams, the matter is confined to the area of intersection because of the combined cooling effect of the beams. Also called optical trapping.
    nano
    An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
    nanotechnology
    The use of atoms, molecules and molecular-scale structures to enhance existing technology and develop new materials and devices. The goal of this technology is to manipulate atomic and molecular particles to create devices that are thousands of times smaller and faster than those of the current microtechnologies.
    optical tweezers
    Optical tweezers refer to a scientific instrument that uses the pressure of laser light to trap and manipulate microscopic objects, such as particles or biological cells, in three dimensions. This technique relies on the momentum transfer of photons from the laser beam to the trapped objects, creating a stable trapping potential. Optical tweezers are widely used in physics, biology, and nanotechnology for studying and manipulating tiny structures at the microscale and nanoscale levels. Key...
    alanineamino acidargininebiological systemsCarl Zeiss SMTconfocal Raman microspectroscopycoolingFemtosecond pulsesgas bubbleglycineHokkaido UniversityJörg Schwartzlaser trappingnanonanotechnologynear infrared laseroptical tweezerspiconewtonPixer TechnologyProlineResearch & TechnologyserinespectroscopySt. Petersburg State UniversityTech PulseLasers

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