A hybrid dielectrophoretic trap–optical tweezers platform for manipulating microparticles in aqueous suspension†

Abstract

We demonstrate that a set of microfabricated electrodes can be coupled to a commercial optical tweezers device, implementing a hybrid electro-optical platform with multiple functionalities for the manipulation of micro-/nanoparticles in suspension. We show that the hybrid scheme allows enhanced manipulation capabilities, including hybrid dynamics, controlled accumulation in the dielectrophoretic trap from the optical tweezers, selectivity, and video tracking of the individual trajectories of trapped particles. This creates opportunities for novel studies in statistical physics and stochastic thermodynamics with multi-particle systems, previously limited to investigations with individual particles.