Computational study of the optical trapping of ellipsoidal particles

Ellipsoidal dielectric particles may be trapped in a linearly polarized Gaussian beam such that they are harmonically bound with respect to each of their rotational and translational degrees of freedom. The ellipsoid belongs to the highest symmetry class for which this is possible. Typically, the longest axis of the ellipsoid aligns itself with the incident beam axis and the second longest with the polarization direction. We investigate this special property by evaluating the trap stiffness matrix for dielectric ellipsoids with aspect ratios (largest: smallest dimension) in the range 1-10, using the discrete dipole approximation. The results are interpreted using a simple phenomenological model and conclusions are drawn concerning optimization of the trap stiffness for specific applications.