General Microscopy Application Note
General Microscopy Application Note Overview: Much research is aimed at
Spatial Light Modulator Optical Tweezing Kit
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Available By Quote Only
Key Features
- Complete Optical Tweezing Kit using high-resolution 1920 x 1200 SLM
- Custom software to create Holographic Optical Traps
- 3D Particle Manipulation using Holographic Beam Control
- High Temporal Trap Stability
- Spatially Uniform Trapping across 312 x 312 µm field of view
Holographic optical tweezing involves using focused laser beams to precisely move objects in a 3D space. This technique is valuable for research in physics, biology, and trapping cold atoms. Meadowlark Optics offers the Optical Tweezing Kit, which is a portable and self-contained platform for optical tweezing. It includes a user-friendly graphical interface and software development kit, allowing researchers to customize, calibrate, and perform computations without needing in-depth knowledge of tweezing theory.
A Spatial Light Modulator (SLM) is employed to adjust the laser beam’s phase, creating a 3D region of focal points. Objects with a higher refractive index are attracted to these focal points, allowing manipulation of objects with diameters from 10 nm to 100 μm with precise control.Spatial Light Modulator Optical Tweezing Kit
Key requirements for the SLM in this application include high resolution, phase stability, and speed. Resolution determines the manipulated field of view and the number of traps, impacting experimental throughput. Phase stability ensures a stable trap with minimized incident power. High-speed SLMs can dynamically reduce Brownian motion, maximizing trap strength and minimizing required power. In biological studies, limiting incident power and exposure duration is crucial for maintaining sample viability. For these reasons, the Meadowlark kit comes standard with the 1920 x 1200 SLM. Other Meadowlark SLMs can be used according to your requirements.
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INTRODUCTION
Optical tweezing can be used to manipulate objects ranging in size from 10’s of nanometers to 10’s of microns and objects with a variety of material characteristics. Trapping examples include cellular organisms, dielectric spheres, metallic spheres, metallic nanoshells, carbon nanotubes, air bubbles, and even water droplets in air.
The Meadowlark Optics’ Optical Tweezing Kit provides researchers with a portable, stand-alone, optical tweezing platform as well as a simple to use graphical user interface (GUI) and software development kit to enable customization, calibration, and computations without requiring in-depth knowledge of tweezing theory. Thus, the default configuration allows a user to quickly and easily manipulate microscopic objects in three dimensions (3D) using the provided GUI and pre-built optical system. The accessible design allows for hassle-free customization allowing users to easily add or remove components.
KEY TRAPPING FEATURES
- Traps can be moved interactively and independently in 3 dimensions
- High-speed Spatial Light Modulator operation increases closed-loop trapping and tracking stability.
- Clearly defined optical design, and accessible implementation make the system ideal for customization.
- Enclosed lens tubes with side ports allow a user to check how light is propagating through the optical system, while simultaneously keeping optics dust-free and the system eye-safe.
IMAGING
- Bright-field imaging over a large field of view (FOV) of 120 x 90 μm, effective pixel size of 200 nm (depends on microscope objective/camera).
- Magnification and image size optimized to camera chip size with interchangeable relay optics.
- 640 x 480 camera images at 300 frames per second (fps) full-field, up to 3000 fps for one or two beads.
TWEEZING SOFTWARE FEATURES
- GUI with dynamic control of trap number, size, position
- Aberration correction included
- Included SDK functions enable custom software development by computing holograms, as well as computing and applying Affine transformations to co-align camera and tweezing coordinates. SDK functions are compatible with C++, LabVIEW, Matlab, and Python
OPTICAL DESIGN
- 1920 x 1200 Spatial Light Modulator
- Laser, 160 mW at 639 nm
- High NA (1.35) 40x oil immersion microscope objective
- Dichroic beamsplitter directs > 90 % of 400 – 870 nm light to camera port
- Minimal moving parts to maximize stability (no floating table required)
1920 x 1200 SLM SYSTEM
We recognize researchers may want to use the SLM in multiple experiments. The 3D Holographic Optical Tweezing platform was designed with this in mind. Users can simply remove the SLM from it’s post and add it to any other optical setup.
PORTABILITY
- Accessible laser beam path allows easy customization
- All alignment controls are accessible
- Optics come mounted on an 18 x 18-inch breadboard
Diffraction Efficiency (1st-order) – This is the percentage of light measured in the 1st-order when writing a linear repeating phase ramp to the SLM as compared to the light in the 0th order when no pattern is written to the SLM. Diffraction efficiency varies as a function of the number of phase levels in the phase ramp. The plot to the right shows sample 1st order diffraction efficiency measurements, as a function of the phase ramp period, taken at various wavelengths.
Software – Meadowlark Optics’ SLMs are supplied with a Graphical User Interface and software development kits that support LabVIEW, Matlab, Python and C++. The software allows the user to generate images, to correct aberrations, to calibrate the global and/or regional optical response over ‘n’ waves of modulation, to sequence at a user defined frame rate, and to monitor the SLM temperature.
Global or Regional Calibrations – Regional calibrations provide the highest spatial phase fidelity commercially available by regionally characterizing the phase response to voltage and calibrating on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
Image Generation Capabilities –
Bessel Beams: Spiral Phase, Fork, Concentric Rings, Axicons
Lens Functions: Cylindrical, Spherical
Gratings: Blazed, Sinusoid
Diffraction Patterns: Stripes, Checkerboard, Solid, Random Phase, Holograms, Zernike Polynomials, Superimpose Images
Common Specifications
Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Array Size: 15.36 x 9.60 mm
Pixel Pitch: 8.0 x 8.0 µm
DC Balancing: 1.35 kHz
Fill Factor: 95.60 %
0th Order Diffraction Efficiency: 76 – 91 %
0th Order Diffraction Efficiency: 92 – 98 % (dielectric mirror)
Controller: HDMI – E-Series: 8-bit, S-Series: 10-bit
Ordering Information – Contact Us or Request Quote Online
Specify Calibration Wavelength | Wavefront | LC Response Time / System Frame Rate | AR Coatings | 0th-order Diffraction Efficiency | Reference This Model Number |
405 nm | λ/3 | 13.4 ms / 60 Hz | 400 – 850 nm | 83 – 90 % | Model E19x12-400-700-HDMI |
473 nm | λ/4 | 13.7 ms / 60 Hz | 400 – 850 nm | 84 – 90 % | Model E19x12-400-700-HDMI |
532 nm | λ/5 | 14.0 ms / 60 Hz | 400 – 850 nm | 80 – 88 % | Model E19x12-400-700-HDMI |
635 nm | λ/6 | 14.5 ms / 60 Hz | 400 – 850 nm or 500 – 1200 nm | 84 – 89 % | Model E19x12-400-700-HDMI Or Model E19x12-500-1200-HDMI |
785 nm | λ/7 | 20.5 ms / 30 Hz | 500 – 1200 nm | 76 – 79 % | Model E19x12-500-1200-HDMI |
1064 nm | λ/10 | 25 ms / 30 Hz | 500 – 1200 nm or 850 – 1650 nm | 85 – 88 % | Model E19x12-500-1200-HDMI Or Model E19x12-850-1650-HDMI |
1550 nm | λ/12 | 45 ms / 15 Hz | 850 – 1650 nm | 85 – 91 % | Model E19x12-850-1650-HDMI |
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