Apparatus and process for the lateral deflection and separation of flowing particles by a static array of optical tweezers
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for controlled deflection of particles, comprising:
- a source for a plurality of particles an external bias force from a bias force source applied to the plurality of particles; and
an optical tweezer array including a plurality of optical tweezers having a trapping force associated with each of the tweezers, the optical tweezer array oriented at a tilt angle relative to a direction of the bias force generated by the bias force source.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for laterally deflecting and/or separating a flow of particles using a static array of optical tweezers. In an array of optical tweezers with a lattice constant larger than the size of a particle of interest, particles driven past the array by an external force experience an additional interaction with the array of traps. By altering the angle of the array of traps relative to the external force, the particles'"'"' movement from trap to trap inside the array can be biased away from the direction of the external force, thereby enabling selective deflection and/or separation of particles.
45 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlled deflection of particles, comprising:
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a source for a plurality of particles an external bias force from a bias force source applied to the plurality of particles; and
an optical tweezer array including a plurality of optical tweezers having a trapping force associated with each of the tweezers, the optical tweezer array oriented at a tilt angle relative to a direction of the bias force generated by the bias force source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of controlling particle motion, comprising the steps of:
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providing a flow of particles;
applying an external bias force to the particles; and
creating an optical tweezer array by forming an array of optical gradient fields with the optical tweezer array tilted at an angle relative to a direction of the external bias force. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification