Design and construction of a dual optical tweezer

Abstract

Optical tweezers are a powerful experimental tool in studying many exciting areas in physical and biological sciences. The ability to apply forces in pico-Newton scales make it a versatile tool in studying properties of colloids, molecular motors, and microrheology. Optical tweezers are built over inverted microscopes with high numerical aperture objectives. There are a plethora of optical tweezer systems that are being used worldwide. The applications of single, dual, multiple trap and holographic optical tweezers are never-ending, making this system a very versatile tool for physicists and biologists alike. In the duration of this Master’s thesis, the construction and calibration of a single and dual optical tweezer are demonstrated. The setup underwent significant changes in comparison to the standard design which has given it more experimental freedom. The tweezer can provide trap stiffness in the range of 20 pN/m to 140 pN/m.