Using a slightly tapered optical fiber to attract and transport microparticles

We exploit a fiber puller to transform a telecom single-mode optical fiber with a 125 mu m diameter into a symmetric and unbroken slightly tapered optical fiber with a 50 mu m diameter at the minimum waist. When the laser light is launched into the optical fiber, we can observe that, due to the evanescent wave of the slightly tapered fiber, the nearby polystyrene microparticles with 10 mu m diameters will be attracted onto the fiber surface and roll separately in the direction of light propagation. We have also simulated and compared the optical propulsion effects on the microparticles when the laser light is launched into a slightly tapered fiber and a heavily tapered ( subwavelength) fiber, respectively. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America