title: Graded-index fiber tip optical tweezers: numerical simulation and trapping experiment.
abstract: Optical fiber tweezers based on a graded-index multimode fiber (GIMMF) tip is proposed. Light propagation characteristics and gradient force distribution near the GIMMF tip are numerically investigated, which are further compared with that of optical fiber tips based on conventional single mode fibers. The simulated results indicated that by selecting optimal GIMMF length, the gradient force of the GIMMF tip tweezers is about 4 times higher than that of the SMF tip tweezers with a same shape. To prove the feasibility of such a new concept, optical trapping of yeast cells with a diameter of ~5 μm using the chemically-etched GIMMF tip is experimentally demonstrated and the trapping force is also calculated.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Optical Sensing and Communications, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China. yjrao@uestc.edu.cn
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Ai-Yan
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yun-Jiang
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiao