Optical trapping and micromanipulation using micro-beam shaping created by micro-optical elements

Optical trapping and manipulation are based on three types of the force and momentum, in the range of pN, to grab, lift and rotate ti-ticroparticles due to the light intensity or phase distribution. In the first type, particles are trapped in the highest intensity region of the beam due to optical gradient force for high refractive index particles with respective to its surrounding medium. Secondly, orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a beam can be transferred to a particle due to phase singularity within a beam. Thirdly, spin angular momentum (SAM) can be transferred to the particles due to the circular polarization of the beam. In recent years, micro fabricated optical elements have been used to modulate the amplitude and phase of the optical beam to create new generation of optical tweezers with additional manipulation dimensions. In this paper, a review of our recent discoveries of optical trapping and manipulation using micro-beam shaping and micro-optical elements will be presented.