Optical path clearing and enhanced transmission through colloidal suspensions

J. Baumgartl, T. Čižmár, M. Mazilu, V. C. Chan, A. E. Carruthers,B. A. Capron, W. McNeely, E. M. Wright, and K. Dholakia

We utilize advanced laser fields to clear a path through a dynamic turbid medium, a concept termed “Optical path clearing (OPC).” Particles are evacuated from a volume of the medium using the gradient and/or scattering forces due to an applied laser field with a suitably tailored spatial profile. Our studies encompass both an analytical model and proof-of-principle experiments where paths are cleared in dense bulk colloidal suspensions. Based on our results we suggest that high-performance and high efficiency OPC will be achieved by multiple-step clearing using dynamic laser fields based on Airy or inverted axicon beams.

DOI