Trapping and manipulating a single particle in dusty plasma using optical trapping

Most current studies on laser manipulation of particles in dusty plasma have been performed by suspending groups of particles within plasma sheath. This study reports on the trapping and manipulating a single particle in dusty plasma both inside and outside the plasma sheath using a recently developed universal optical trap (UOT) technique. Based on the results, it was demonstrated that the integrated UOT plasma system was able not only to trap particles in the dusty plasma, but also transport the trapped particles to a different location in the plasma. As a result of three balanced forces, optical force, Coulomb force, and gravitational force, individually introduced Single wall carbon nanotube particles are trapped by UOT in Argon or Argon/Air combination RF plasma, operating at pressures ranging of tens – hundreds of millitorr with input rf power 1-10W. A real-time imaging system was used to monitor the stability and motion dynamics of trapped particles. Additionally, we investigate how different optical configurations and plasma operating conditions are affecting particle trapping and manipulations.