Three dimensional optical trapping using plural optical fibers

Summary form only. We have already developed an optical fiber trapping system, which was most economical and much simpler to operate as compared with other embodiments, and verified that a micro object could be trapped by a single laser beam from an optical fiber end inserted at an angle to a sample chamber. Micro object could be manipulated to the forward and backward, or right and left directions synchronized to the optical fiber. However we could not levitate a micro object against the gravity by the single laser beam from an optical fiber end. When we moved the optical fiber in the upward direction using an xyz manipulator, the micro object was transferred to the horizontal direction and trapped at the point where the x-directed (horizontal) optical forces were precisely balanced. In this paper, optical levitation of a transparent particle using plural optical fibers was successfully demonstrated and discussed.