Trapping two types of particles using a focused partially coherent elegant Laguerre–Gaussian beam

Abstract

The radiation forces on a Rayleigh dielectric sphere induced by a focused partially coherent elegant Laguerre-Gaussian (ELG) beam are investigated by using the Rayleigh scattering theory. It is found that a focused partially coherent ELG beam with suitable mode orders can be used to trap a Rayleigh particle whose refractive index is larger or smaller than that of the ambient by varying its initial spatial coherence width. Therefore, one can use one optical-trap system to trap two types of particles with different refractive indices.