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Phys. Rev. E 68, 051404 (2003) [5 pages]

Periodic oscillation of a colloidal disk near a wall in an optical trap

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Zhengdong Cheng1,*, Thomas G. Mason1,†, and P. M. Chaikin2
1Corporate Strategic Research, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Route 22 East, Annandale, New Jersey 08801, USA
2Department of Physics, Princeton University, Jadwin Hall, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

Received 9 July 2003; published 25 November 2003

Colloidal disks can be stably trapped using optical tweezers. However, when the tweezers press the disk against an opposing wall, we observe an instability leading to periodic motion which we model using coupled nonlinear equations. The resulting “switchback” oscillation involves combined orientational and translational motion of the disk. This observation reveals a new degree of freedom in colloidal architectures, that is, the ability to drive translational motion from a static light field energy source.

© 2003 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.68.051404
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.68.051404
PACS:
82.70.Dd, 87.80.Cc, 05.45.Xt

*Present address: ESL 202, DEAS, Harvard University, 40 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138. Email address: zcheng@deas.harvard.edu

†Present address: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Department of Physics, University of California–Los Angeles, 3040 Young Hall, 607 Charles E. Young Dr. East, Box 951569, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569, USA.

 
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