Optical trapping with superfocused high-M2 laser diode beam

G. S. Sokolovskii; V. V. Dudelev; Vasileia Melissinaki; S. N. Losev; Ksenya K. Soboleva; A. G. Deryagin; V. I. Kuchinskii; M. Farsari; W. Sibbett; E. U Rafailov

doi:10.1117/12.2078957

3 March 2015 Optical trapping with superfocused high-M² laser diode beam

G. S. Sokolovskii, V. V. Dudelev, Vasileia Melissinaki, S. N. Losev, Ksenya K. Soboleva, A. G. Deryagin, V. I. Kuchinskii, M. Farsari, W. Sibbett, E. U Rafailov

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9343, Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XVII; 93430Q (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2078957
Event: SPIE LASE, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Many applications of high-power laser diodes demand tight focusing. This is often not possible due to the multimode nature of semiconductor laser radiation possessing beam propagation parameter M² values in double-digits. We propose a method of ‘interference’ superfocusing of high-M² diode laser beams with a technique developed for the generation of Bessel beams based on the employment of an axicon fabricated on the tip of a 100 μm diameter optical fiber with high-precision direct laser writing. Using axicons with apex angle 140⁰ and rounded tip area as small as ~10 μm diameter, we demonstrate 2-4 μm diameter focused laser ‘needle’ beams with approximately 20 μm propagation length generated from multimode diode laser with beam propagation parameter M²=18 and emission wavelength of 960 nm. This is a few-fold reduction compared to the minimal focal spot size of ~11 μm that could be achieved if focused by an ‘ideal’ lens of unity numerical aperture. The same technique using a 160⁰ axicon allowed us to demonstrate few-μm-wide laser ‘needle’ beams with nearly 100 μm propagation length with which to demonstrate optical trapping of 5-6 μm rat blood red cells in a water-heparin solution. Our results indicate the good potential of superfocused diode laser beams for applications relating to optical trapping and manipulation of microscopic objects including living biological objects with aspirations towards subsequent novel lab-on-chip configurations.

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G. S. Sokolovskii, V. V. Dudelev, Vasileia Melissinaki, S. N. Losev, Ksenya K. Soboleva, A. G. Deryagin, V. I. Kuchinskii, M. Farsari, W. Sibbett, and E. U Rafailov "Optical trapping with superfocused high-M² laser diode beam", Proc. SPIE 9343, Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XVII, 93430Q (3 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2078957

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