FDTD simulation of optical force under non-ideal conditions

Abstract

In this paper, the optical forces of particles in optical tweezers under non-ideal conditions are investigated. The calculation of optical forces are carried out by combining three dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and Maxwell stress Tensor (MST). Numerical results show the changes of trapping stiffness and equilibrium position induced by several common seen non-ideal conditions in experiment. This study is expected to estimate the error of optical force in real situation and that is of great use to further optimize the performance of optical tweezers.