Mathieu beams as versatile light moulds for 3D micro particle assemblies.

We present tailoring of three dimensional light fields which act as light moulds for elaborate particle micro structures of variable shapes. Stereo microscopy is used for visualization of the 3D particle assemblies. The powerful method is demonstrated for the class of propagation invariant beams, where we introduce the use of Mathieu beams as light moulds with non-rotationally-symmetric structure. They offer multifarious field distributions and facilitate the creation of versatile particle structures. This general technique may find its application in micro fluidics, chemistry, biology, and medicine, to create highly efficient mixing tools, for hierarchical supramolecular organization or in 3D tissue engineering.

[1]  W Sibbett,et al.  Generation of multiple Bessel beams for a biophotonics workstation. , 2008, Optics express.

[2]  Cornelia Denz,et al.  Dynamic and Reversible Organization of Zeolite L Crystals Induced by Holographic Optical Tweezers , 2010, Advanced materials.

[3]  J G Rarity,et al.  Constructing 3D crystal templates for photonic band gap materials using holographic optical tweezers. , 2008, Optics express.

[4]  Tomáš Čižmár,et al.  Multiple optical trapping and binding: new routes to self-assembly , 2010 .

[5]  M. Woerdemann,et al.  Full 3D translational and rotational optical control of multiple rod‐shaped bacteria , 2010, Journal of biophotonics.

[6]  M. Woerdemann,et al.  Dynamic multiple-beam counter-propagating optical traps using optical phase-conjugation. , 2010, Optics express.

[7]  W Sibbett,et al.  Creation and Manipulation of Three-Dimensional Optically Trapped Structures , 2002, Science.

[8]  Cornelia Denz,et al.  Reconfigurable Optically Induced Quasicrystallographic Three‐Dimensional Complex Nonlinear Photonic Lattice Structures , 2010, Advanced materials.

[9]  Kishan Dholakia,et al.  Orbital angular momentum transfer in helical Mathieu beams. , 2006, Optics express.

[10]  Johannes Courtial,et al.  Assembly of 3-dimensional structures using programmable holographic optical tweezers. , 2004, Optics express.

[11]  Miles Padgett,et al.  Particle tracking stereomicroscopy in optical tweezers: control of trap shape. , 2010, Optics express.

[12]  Gion Calzaferri,et al.  Molecular sieves as host materials for supramolecular organization , 2004 .

[13]  Kurt Busch,et al.  Three‐Dimensional Nanostructures for Photonics , 2010 .

[14]  Simon Hanna,et al.  Holographic optical trapping of microrods and nanowires. , 2010, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[15]  Holographic shaping of generalized self-reconstructing light beams , 2008 .

[16]  Julio C Gutiérrez-Vega,et al.  Helmholtz-Gauss waves. , 2005, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[17]  Julio C. Gutiérrez-Vega,et al.  Holographic generation and orbital angular momentum of high-order Mathieu beams , 2002 .

[18]  Ramón M. Rodríguez-Dagnino,et al.  Mathieu functions, a visual approach , 2003 .

[19]  W. Sibbett,et al.  Simultaneous micromanipulation in multiple planes using a self-reconstructing light beam , 2002, Nature.

[20]  Miles J. Padgett,et al.  Three-dimensional optical confinement of micron-sized metal particles and the decoupling of the spin and orbital angular momentum within an optical spanner , 2000 .

[21]  Kishan Dholakia,et al.  Light beats the spread: “non‐diffracting” beams , 2010 .