Using Optical Fibers for Particle Trapping and Manipulation

Optical traps using optical fibers can facilitate trapping, manipulation, and characterization of particles ranging from dielectric beads, through anisotropic particles such as rare-earth doped nanorods, with the added advantage of a small footprint. Here, we will introduce several fiber traps, including the quasi-Bessel beam optical fiber tweezers and the optical nanofiber, and illustrate the variety of measurements that can be made depending on the configuration chosen.