Changes in radiation forces acting on a Rayleigh dielectric sphere by use of a wavefront-folding interferometer.

Abstract

We consider a class of fields generated by passing an isotropic Gaussian Schell-model beam through a wavefront-folding interferometer. The output field has various intensity profiles for different phase differences, including the central peak and doughnut shapes. The radiation force on a Rayleigh dielectric particle produced by the highly focused fields is investigated. Numerical results demonstrate that the new fields can be used to trap high-index particles at the focus for the specular case and nearby the focus for the anti-specular case. It is further revealed that the position, the range of particle sizes and the low limit of correlation length for stable trapping could be modulated by adjusting the phase difference.