Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Optics Express

Transfer of ‘pure’ on-axis spin angular momentum to the absorptive particle using self-imaged bottle beam optical tweezers system

Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia, Xiaocong Yuan, Shaohua Tao

Published Oct 18, 2004• 42 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Optical tweezers system has aggrandized the understanding of the light-matter interaction and is used frequently to transfer angular momentum of light to microscopic particles. Here we demonstrate experimentally, for the first time to our knowledge the use of self-imaged bottle beam in an optical tweezers system and we report the mechanical transfer of 'pure' on-axis spin angular momentum to an absorptive particle. The self-imaged bottle beam has embedded optical bottles or null intensity points where the absorptive particles are trapped and the transfer of spin angular momentum is accomplished without the default transfer of orbital angular momentum of a singular beam, which are used conventionally to trap absorptive particles.

DOI
10.1364/opex.12.005172

Related papers

Self-imaged optical bottle beam based optical tweezers systems

Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia, Xiaocong Yuan, Shaohua Tao

Optical tweezers technique has aggrandized the light-matter interaction, whereby researchers have employed light forces from colloidal sciences to biomedical applications. There have been constant quests to integrate novel beams in tweezers system for myriads of novel applications. In this paper, we report optical tweezers system based on self-imaged optical bottle beams, which has some distinct advantages over other conventional beams like Gaussian, Laguerre-Gaussian and Bessel beams in few applications. A self-imaged bottle beam is obtained by superimposing two Bessel beams with varying radial wavevectors. A self-imaged bottle beam possesses three-dimensional intensity-null points along the propagation axis and by varying the radial wavevectors of the Bessel beams number of bottles; location of bottles and the dimension of the bottles can be pre-determined. Moreover, by dynamically varying the parameters of radial wavevector of interfering Bessel beams, the dynamic potential-well obtained are capable of transporting both high and low indices microparticle in conveyor-belt arrangement along the longitudinal axis. Bottle beams belongs to the family of propagation-invariant beams and hence inherent the propagation-invariance and self-reconstruction properties of Bessel beam together with three-dimensional trapping potential contrary to Bessel beam whereby the particles trapped in the central core are loosing defined in the longitudinal axis. Such bottle beams also holds promise applications in blue-detuned optical taps for the optical confinement of laser-cooled atoms in three-dimensional dark region.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Aug 18, 2005•0 citations

Optical spanners and improved optical tweezers

N. B. Simpson

This thesis describes the experimental and theoretical work that investigated the transfer of orbital angular momentum from light to matter. This was achieved by combining two established areas of laser physics which were "optical tweezers" and Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes. The optical tweezers are essentially a tightly focussed laser beam from a high numerical aperture microscope objective lens, which traps particles in three dimensions just below the beam focus. By incorporating a Laguerre- Gaussian laser mode into the tweezers system, the trapping efficiency was doubled. These improved optical tweezers have been successfully demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. In addition to the spin angular momentum which is associated with the polarisation state, the Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes also possess orbital angular momentum. The "optical spanners" utilised this property by transferring orbital angular momentum from the laser beam to the trapped particle, causing it to rotate whilst being held in the optical trap. This effect was theoretically modelled and experimentally observed. Using the optical spanners, the spin angular momentum of the laser was used to directly cancel the orbital angular momentum in the beam, which was observed as a cessation in rotation of the trapped particle. This demonstrated the mechanical equivalence of the spin and orbital components of angular momentum in a light beam, and gave experimental evidence for the well defined nature of the orbital angular momentum present in Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes.

•Mar 1, 1998•0 citations

Orbital angular momentum of a high-order Bessel light beam

Karen P. Volke-Sepúlveda, Veneranda G. Garces, S. Chávez-Cerda +2 more

The orbital angular momentum density of Bessel beams is calculated explicitly within a rigorous vectorial treatment. This allows us to investigate some aspects that have not been analysed previously, such as the angular momentum content of azimuthally and radially polarized beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate experimentally the mechanical transfer of orbital angular momentum to trapped particles in optical tweezers using a high-order Bessel beam. We set transparent particles of known dimensions into rotation, where the sense of rotation can be reversed by changing the sign of the singularity. Quantitative results are obtained for rotation rates. This paper's animations are available from the Multimedia Enhancements page.

Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics•Mar 28, 2002•429 citations

Micromanipulation with Bessel beams: studies of angular momentum and reconstruction

David McGloin, Veneranda G. Garces, Kishan Dholakia

Bessel beams have a number of properties that make them useful for optical manipulation. These include a central core which does not diffract over a characteristic distance, the reconstruction of the cross sectional intensity around obstacles and the ability of the beams to possess orbital angular momentum. Here we examine the utility of the Bessel beam to quantitatively examine the transfer of spin and orbital angular momentum to particle trapped away from the beam axis. We show the simultaneous transfer of orbital and spin angular momentum to an off-axis particle. We experimentally study how both the spin and orbital angular momentum of light behaves upon passage through microscopic optically trapped particles. Particles trapped with Gaussian and, separately, Bessel light beams in two spatially distinct sample chambers are studied with trapped objects in the first chamber acting as distorting obstacles. We examine the differences between Bessel beams and Gaussian beams in such experiments. We also show how the Bessel beam can be used to simultaneously trap particles that can be as much as 1cm away from each other. We discuss applications of these results and suggest other topics where the Bessel beam may be of use.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Oct 18, 2004•0 citations

Observation of the simultaneous transfer of the spin and orbital angular momentum of light to an optically trapped particle

Veneranda G. Garces, David McGloin, Miles J. Padgett +1 more

We observe the simultaneous spinning and orbital motion of a microscopic particle trapped off-axis in a high-order Bessel beam. Quantitative measurements relating the spin and orbital angular momentum content of the light beam acting on the particle are reported. Experimental results were in agreement with the theory.

Frontiers in Optics•Jan 1, 2003•0 citations

Transfer of optical orbital angular momentum to a bound electron

Christian Tomás Schmiegelow, J. Schulz, Henning Kaufmann +3 more

Photons can carry angular momentum, not only due to their spin, but also due to their spatial structure. This extra twist has been used, for example, to drive circular motion of microscopic particles in optical tweezers as well as to create vortices in quantum gases. Here we excite an atomic transition with a vortex laser beam and demonstrate the transfer of optical orbital angular momentum to the valence electron of a single trapped ion. We observe strongly modified selection rules showing that an atom can absorb two quanta of angular momentum from a single photon: one from the spin and another from the spatial structure of the beam. Furthermore, we show that parasitic ac-Stark shifts from off-resonant transitions are suppressed in the dark centre of vortex beams. These results show how light's spatial structure can determine the characteristics of light-matter interaction and pave the way for its application and observation in other systems.

Nature Communications•Oct 3, 2016•392 citations
Optical tweezers system has aggrandized the understanding of the light-matter interaction and is used frequently to transfer angular momentum of light to microscopic particles. Here we demonstrate experimentally, for the first time to our knowledge the use of self-imaged bottle beam in an optical tweezers system and we report the mechanical transfer of 'pure' on-axis spin angular momentum to an absorptive particle. The self-imaged bottle beam has embedded optical bottles or null intensity points where the absorptive particles are trapped and the transfer of spin angular momentum is accomplished without the default transfer of orbital angular momentum of a singular beam, which are used conventionally to trap absorptive particles.
Optical tweezers technique has aggrandized the light-matter interaction, whereby researchers have employed light forces from colloidal sciences to biomedical applications. There have been constant quests to integrate novel beams in tweezers system for myriads of novel applications. In this paper, we report optical tweezers system based on self-imaged optical bottle beams, which has some distinct advantages over other conventional beams like Gaussian, Laguerre-Gaussian and Bessel beams in few applications. A self-imaged bottle beam is obtained by superimposing two Bessel beams with varying radial wavevectors. A self-imaged bottle beam possesses three-dimensional intensity-null points along the propagation axis and by varying the radial wavevectors of the Bessel beams number of bottles; location of bottles and the dimension of the bottles can be pre-determined. Moreover, by dynamically varying the parameters of radial wavevector of interfering Bessel beams, the dynamic potential-well obtained are capable of transporting both high and low indices microparticle in conveyor-belt arrangement along the longitudinal axis. Bottle beams belongs to the family of propagation-invariant beams and hence inherent the propagation-invariance and self-reconstruction properties of Bessel beam together with three-dimensional trapping potential contrary to Bessel beam whereby the particles trapped in the central core are loosing defined in the longitudinal axis. Such bottle beams also holds promise applications in blue-detuned optical taps for the optical confinement of laser-cooled atoms in three-dimensional dark region.
This thesis describes the experimental and theoretical work that investigated the transfer of orbital angular momentum from light to matter. This was achieved by combining two established areas of laser physics which were "optical tweezers" and Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes. The optical tweezers are essentially a tightly focussed laser beam from a high numerical aperture microscope objective lens, which traps particles in three dimensions just below the beam focus. By incorporating a Laguerre- Gaussian laser mode into the tweezers system, the trapping efficiency was doubled. These improved optical tweezers have been successfully demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. In addition to the spin angular momentum which is associated with the polarisation state, the Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes also possess orbital angular momentum. The "optical spanners" utilised this property by transferring orbital angular momentum from the laser beam to the trapped particle, causing it to rotate whilst being held in the optical trap. This effect was theoretically modelled and experimentally observed. Using the optical spanners, the spin angular momentum of the laser was used to directly cancel the orbital angular momentum in the beam, which was observed as a cessation in rotation of the trapped particle. This demonstrated the mechanical equivalence of the spin and orbital components of angular momentum in a light beam, and gave experimental evidence for the well defined nature of the orbital angular momentum present in Laguerre-Gaussian laser modes.
The orbital angular momentum density of Bessel beams is calculated explicitly within a rigorous vectorial treatment. This allows us to investigate some aspects that have not been analysed previously, such as the angular momentum content of azimuthally and radially polarized beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate experimentally the mechanical transfer of orbital angular momentum to trapped particles in optical tweezers using a high-order Bessel beam. We set transparent particles of known dimensions into rotation, where the sense of rotation can be reversed by changing the sign of the singularity. Quantitative results are obtained for rotation rates. This paper's animations are available from the Multimedia Enhancements page.
Bessel beams have a number of properties that make them useful for optical manipulation. These include a central core which does not diffract over a characteristic distance, the reconstruction of the cross sectional intensity around obstacles and the ability of the beams to possess orbital angular momentum. Here we examine the utility of the Bessel beam to quantitatively examine the transfer of spin and orbital angular momentum to particle trapped away from the beam axis. We show the simultaneous transfer of orbital and spin angular momentum to an off-axis particle. We experimentally study how both the spin and orbital angular momentum of light behaves upon passage through microscopic optically trapped particles. Particles trapped with Gaussian and, separately, Bessel light beams in two spatially distinct sample chambers are studied with trapped objects in the first chamber acting as distorting obstacles. We examine the differences between Bessel beams and Gaussian beams in such experiments. We also show how the Bessel beam can be used to simultaneously trap particles that can be as much as 1cm away from each other. We discuss applications of these results and suggest other topics where the Bessel beam may be of use.
Photons can carry angular momentum, not only due to their spin, but also due to their spatial structure. This extra twist has been used, for example, to drive circular motion of microscopic particles in optical tweezers as well as to create vortices in quantum gases. Here we excite an atomic transition with a vortex laser beam and demonstrate the transfer of optical orbital angular momentum to the valence electron of a single trapped ion. We observe strongly modified selection rules showing that an atom can absorb two quanta of angular momentum from a single photon: one from the spin and another from the spatial structure of the beam. Furthermore, we show that parasitic ac-Stark shifts from off-resonant transitions are suppressed in the dark centre of vortex beams. These results show how light's spatial structure can determine the characteristics of light-matter interaction and pave the way for its application and observation in other systems.