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Using Optical Tweezers to Simultaneously Trap, Charge, and Measure the Charge of a Microparticle in Air

Andrea Stoellner1, Isaac C. D. Lenton1, Artem G. Volosniev2, James Millen3, Renjiro Shibuya4, Hisao Ishii4, Dmytro Rak1,5, Zhanybek Alpichshev1, Grégory David6 et al.

Ruth Signorell6, Caroline Muller1, and Scott Waitukaitis1,*

  • *Contact author: scott.waitukaitis@ista.ac.at
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 218202 – Published 20 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5xd9-4tjj

Abstract

Optical tweezers are widely used as a highly sensitive tool to measure forces on micron-scale particles. One such application is the measurement of the electric charge of a particle, which can be done with high precision in liquids, air, or vacuum. We experimentally investigate how the trapping laser itself can electrically charge such a particle, in our case a ∼1  μm SiO2 sphere in air. We model the charging mechanism as a two-photon process which reproduces the experimental data with high fidelity.

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synopsis

Getting a Charge from a Laser Beam

Published 20 November, 2025

The laser that levitates a microscale particle can also charge it up, providing a useful tool for lab-based experiments for atmospheric science.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 218202– Published 20 November, 2025
  • Received 24 July 2025
  • Accepted 2 October 2025
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