Revisit on dynamic radiation forces induced by pulsed Gaussian beams

Li-Gang Wang and Hai-Shui Chai

Motivated by the recent optical trapping experiments using ultra-short pulsed lasers [Opt. Express 18, 7554 (2010); Appl. Opt. 48, G33 (2009)], in this paper we have re-investigated the trapping effects of the pulsed radiation force (PRF), which is induced by a pulsed Gaussian beam acting on a Rayleigh dielectric sphere. Based on our previous model [Opt. Express 15, 10615 (2007)], we have considered the effects arisen from both the transverse and axial PRFs, which lead to the different behaviors of both velocities and displacements of a Rayleigh particle within a pulse duration. Our analysis shows that, for the small-sized Rayleigh particles, when the pulse has the large pulse duration, it might provide the three-dimensional optical trapping; and when the pulse has the short pulse duration, it only provides the two-dimensional optical trapping with the axial movement along the pulse propagation. When the particle is in the vacuum or in the situation with the very weak Brownian motion, the particle can always be trapped stably due to the particle’s cumulative momentum transferred from the pulse, and only in this case the trapping effect is independent of pulse duration. Finally, we have predicted that for the large-sized Rayleigh particles, the pulse beam can only provide the two-dimensional optical trap (optical guiding). Our results provide the important information about the trapping mechanism of pulsed tweezers.

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