title: Modulated optical vortices.
abstract: Single-beam optical gradient force traps created by focusing helical modes of light are known as optical vortices. Modulating the helical pitch of such a mode's wave front yields a new class of optical traps whose dynamically reconfigurable intensity distributions provide new opportunities for controlling motion in mesoscopic systems. An implementation of modulated optical vortices based on the dynamic holographic optical tweezer technique is described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Grier