Direct Measurement of the Oscillation Frequency in an Optical-Tweezers Trap by Parametric Excitation

Joykutty, Joji and Mathur, Vaibhav and Venkataraman, V and Natarajan, Vasant (2005) Direct Measurement of the Oscillation Frequency in an Optical-Tweezers Trap by Parametric Excitation. In: Physical Review Letters, 95 (19). 193902-1-193902-4.

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Abstract

We demonstrate a novel technique for direct measurement of the oscillation frequency in an optical-tweezers trap. The technique uses the phenomenon of parametric resonance in an oscillator when the stiffness of the trapping potential is modulated. The trapped particle is a strongly damped oscillator; hence, the signature of parametric resonance is not an increase in the amplitude but an increase in the size of Brownian fluctuations. The trap frequency is measured with an accuracy of 0.1%, which is better than previous techniques and thus opens up new possibilities in experiments with optical tweezers.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Physical Review Letters
Publisher:	American Institute of Physics
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to American Institute of Physics.
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Physics
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2005
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:22
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/4652

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