Kinetically locked-in colloidal transport in an array of optical tweezers.
We describe measurements of colloidal transport through arrays of micrometer-scale potential wells created with holographic optical tweezers. Varying the orientation of the trap array relative to the external driving force results in a hierarchy of lock-in transitions analogous to symmetry-selecting processes in a wide variety of systems. Focusing on colloid as a model system provides the first opportunity to observe the microscopic mechanisms of kinetic lock-in transitions and reveals a new class of statistically locked-in states. This particular realization also has immediate applications for continuously fractionating particles, biological cells, and macromolecules.
Korda
Pamela T
PT
Department of Physics, James Franck Institute and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Taylor
Michael B
MB
Grier
David G
DG