A dual beam photonic crystal fiber trap for microscopic particles

The dual beam counterpropagating optical trap has found increased use in studies such as optical stretching, optical binding, Raman spectroscopy, and the trapping of high index particles. In this letter we demonstrate the use of photonic crystal fiber to realize a long range dual beam trap that may support multiple wavelengths simultaneously. We develop a dual wavelength conveyor belt for trapped particles and realize the first ever dual beam white light (supercontinuum) trap. This low coherence light trap permits long range longitudinal optical binding of microparticles in the trap with no deleterious interference effects. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.