Current Projects
This page lists some of the projects our group is currently working on. We are also open to collaboration with other groups, if you have a question you think optical tweezers could be useful in answering, please contact us. If you are interested in working with our group on these projects or a related project please feel free to get in contact.
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Optical Angular Momentum
We often think of light as a passive thing however light actually carries a definite momentum. Some light beams carry an angular momentum. These novel beams allow forces to be created which can spin objects around a central “optical vortex”.
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Micromachines
We have been developing various types of optically driven micro-machines for some time. This fast developing field is set to have crucial role in the development of nanotechnology.
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Optical Tweezers at the limits
Optical Trapping (OT) is a well-established method for manipulating nanometre to micrometre-scale transparent objects. It uses an optical force known as the gradient force to trap and hold tiny particles in a focused laser beam.
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Simulation and Modelling
It turns out that the optical forces created in by focused light beams are not so simple to calculate especially when dealing with particles on the order of a wavelength in size. We have devised sophisticated numerical methods to calculate these forces and to understand the underlying electrodynamics at play.
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