Wavefront Shaping of Scattering Forces Enhances Optical Trapping of Levitated Nanoparticles.

ABSTRACT: Optically-levitated nanoparticles in vacuum offer a pristine platform for high-quality mechanical oscillators, enabling a wide range of precision measurements and quantum technologies. A key performance metric in such systems is the stiffness of the optical trap, which is typically enhanced by increasing laser power-at the cost of unwanted heating, reduced coherence, and enhanced quantum backaction. Here, we demonstrate an innovative route to increasing trap stiffness: wavefront shaping of the optical field. By tailoring the spatial phase profile of the trapping beam, we significantly boost the mechanical confinement of subwavelength particles without raising the optical intensity. Remarkably, this enhancement arises from a selective reduction of non-conservative optical forces, while pres

SUBMITTER: Kleine M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12749022 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature