interview | focus

How it all began

Since the first discovery of optical gradient and scattering forces in 1970, optical tweezers have helped
unveil many mysteries and given deeper insights in many areas of science. Arthur Ashkin, the father of
optical tweezers, recalls some ‘eureka’ moments and shares his viewpoint of the field with Nature Photonics.

■■ What are optical tweezers? light. These observations showed how laser
Optical tweezers, or ‘laser tweezers’, are light could trap particles on a glass plate and
devices that use a laser to capture, stably gave me the idea of replacing the glass wall
trap and manipulate small particles ranging by a counter-propagating beam to make an
in size from tens of micrometres down to a all-optical two-beam light trap. That work
fraction of a nanometre. They are based on led to single-beam levitation traps in 1971
the force of radiation pressure, which arises and later to all-optical single-beam gradient
from the momentum of light, and exploit traps — optical tweezers — in 1986. That
ordinary laser beams focused to spot sizes was a time of many exciting discoveries,
appropriate for their particular application. but I don’t recall jumping out of my bathtub
Optical tweezers have unique properties and running down the street naked yelling
that have revolutionized the experimental ‘eureka’! One highlight of the discovery was
study of small particles in many fields. They the realization that it might also be possible
Aline Ashkin

can capture single particles, collections of to trap atoms and molecules — after all,
dielectric, metal or liquid particles, and even atoms are just small dielectric particles.
single atoms or molecules in vacuum, air I also speculated on the use of optical
or liquid environments. They are capable tweezers for trapping biological particles,
of resolving the position of a particle down Arthur Ashkin, after learning of his election as an but I was concerned, at that time, about the
to sub-nanometre distances and measuring honorary member of the Optical Society of America potential damage that strong laser beams
minute sub-piconewton forces applied to “in recognition of his pioneering work on optical could cause to living tissue. This problem
fixed or moving particles. They can be used trapping and the development of optical tweezers.” was later solved by using infrared lasers.
in free space by themselves or incorporated
into optical, electronic, atomic tunelling or ■■ Were there any difficulties that
atomic force microscopes. centimetres per second, which corresponds obstructed your progress?
to the velocity of single-photon recoil — I recall the difficulties I had in submitting my
■■ How are optical tweezers used? about 3 mm s–1 for sodium. This feat and the first paper to Physical Review Letters. At Bell
Nowadays, optical tweezers are used in many subsequent first demonstration of optical Labs, those wishing to publish their research
fields of physical, chemical and biological tweezers were accomplished at Bell Labs in first needed approval from an anonymous
sciences. For example, many techniques 1985 and 1986, respectively. internal reviewer. The reviewer rejected my
have been developed in biophysics to paper for several reasons, one being that
apply optical tweezers to single biological ■■ How did you discover optical tweezers? there was “no new physics in the work.” He/
molecules such as motor molecules. The I first became interested in radiation she said that the work contained no errors
‘handles’ technique is often used to attach a pressure forces during the Second World and could probably be published somewhere,
macroscopic particle to a small molecule for War when I was at the Columbia Radiation but not in Physical Review Letters. Our
measuring minute forces. Optical tweezers Lab. I was their first technician and a director, Rudi Kompfner, was upset by the
have given a deeper insight into the dynamic sophomore student. Later I became a rejection and told me to submit it anyway,
processes responsible for cell motion in staff member. We worked on microwave and the paper was accepted. I received a
biology. Feedback techniques have also magnetrons. For fun, I tried an experiment nice letter from a stranger saying: “This is
been developed to sensitively measure and to detect the radiation pressure of a 3-cm- one for your grandchildren.” In 1996, on the
control the optical forces applied to particles. wavelength megawatt magnetron, and it occasion of the centenary of the American
Surprisingly, tweezer forces can also be worked. Later, when I was at Bell Labs, Physical Society, the paper was cited as one
applied inside living cells to manipulate my interest in light pressure was refreshed of the foremost in atomic physics over the
organelles and other cell particles, in what by reports of the curious motion of small past century, and was included in the volume
amounts to internal cell surgery. Successful particles inside resonant cavities of visible “The Physical Review: The First Hundred
trapping and manipulation requires the lasers. A possible cause was thought to be Years”. My early bosses were very supportive
atoms or molecules to be cooled using light light pressure. I thought this theory was of the work but my bosses at a later time were
forces and then placed inside a deep optical wrong and so I did a simple experiment with quite the opposite. One of them thought
trap. It is remarkable that optical tweezers micrometre-sized transparent spheres and that nobody would be interested in trapping
allow us to cool atoms optically from a a focused laser beam. This demonstrated macroscopic particles. Later, when I showed
temperature of around 500–1,000 K — very large pushing forces and, surprisingly, a him the trapping of live bacteria and viruses
typical of an atomic beam from an oven — strong transverse gradient force due to basic and suggested it might be very important,
to hundreds of a millikelvin. This effectively scattering and gradient forces that pulled the he told me: “Art, don’t exaggerate.” Another
slows the atoms down to speeds of a few particles into the high-intensity region of the boss thought that atom trapping would never

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 Focus | interview

work. However, I persisted. I approached Jim particles. All one needs is a laser beam Josephson effect, spintronic effects and
Gordon, who built the first maser, and asked of a few milliwatts, preferably at a visible vortex generation in atomic vapours.
him to check my conclusions, which were wavelength, focused to a small spot Even non-interacting Fermionic particles
based on a semiclassical approach to trapping size that can vary from the theoretical with integer spin have been condensed
and cooling atoms. Jim was interested minimum of half the light wavelength up with the help of optical tweezers. Starting
and basically agreed with me. He took a to several micrometres. It is more difficult with our own serendipitous discovery
fundamental approach based on quantum to trap atoms or molecules; this requires of the tweezer-based trapping of living
electrodynamics. He even discovered a frequency-stabilized laser capable of organisms in 1987, the field of laser trap
additional quantum heating effects. Later we sensitively tuning within the atomic line manipulation in biology has become one
proved an ‘optical Earnshaw theorem’, which width, as well as additional laser beams to of the most important applications of this
showed that both scattering and gradient slow the atoms to temperatures below the technique. Steven Block from Stanford
forces are needed to make atom traps. In trap depth. Such cooling was accomplished University in the USA and his collaborators
1984, Steven Chu arrived at Holmdel from at Bell Labs in 1985 and later at the National pioneered the optical tweezer trapping of
the Bell Labs in Murray Hill and collaborated Bureau of Standards, now the National single biological molecules, particularly
with John Bjorkholm, Leo Holberg and me Institute of Standards and Technology. motor molecules such as kinesin, myosin,
on the project, despite a specific warning This in turn led to the 2001 Nobel Prize for dynein and RNA polymerase. He perfected
from management. After some initial Physics for the demonstration of an optical clever feedback techniques to study force
difficulties, the experiment worked pretty Bose–Einstein Condensate (BEC). BEC generation and the stepping motion of
much as anticipated, to some people’s praise is a remarkable quantum phase transition the molecular motors. His group has
and others’ astonishment. that can occur in bosonic particles at very studied the mechanical properties of DNA
low temperatures. When particle density and even analysed its genetic code with
■■ How did you first apply optical tweezers? of a system is high enough such that the de sub-ångström accuracy. There are also
Tweezer traps typically refer to single-beam Broglie wavelengths of adjacent particles achievements illustrating other major
gradient traps. There are also two-beam overlap, all the particles collapse into a directions taken by optical tweezers; for
gradient traps for use with macroscopic single coherent lowest-energy state. The example, work on plasmonic nanotweezers
particles or atoms. For atoms, the trapping first BECs were achieved by the evaporative and applications of the orbital angular
light is tuned far below resonance to reduce cooling of atoms from microkelvin to momentum of laser light.
fluctuational heating. I invented tweezer nanokelvin temperatures in magnetic
traps in 1978. Tweezer trap depths are traps. Such temperatures are probably the ■■ What is the outlook of the field?
orders of magnitude greater than those of coldest temperatures in the universe and Many applications are still in their infancy,
the atom traps proposed earlier by Letokhov correspond to a velocity of a few tenths of a so one expects they will grow well into the
and others. Tweezers are single-beam traps millimetre per second — well below a single future. For example, quantum computing
and are therefore easily manoeuvrable in resonant photon recoil. Magnetic traps and medical applications use optical
space. Interestingly, optical tweezers were are very restrictive, however, because they tweezers to diagnose diseases quickly.
first applied in 1986, at a time of difficulty can only trap atoms in a single magnetic Malaria and some cancer cells can be
in our first atom-trapping experiment. The sub-level of the ground state. Optical detected based on the elasticity of the
demonstration of trapping sub-micrometre- tweezers were specifically not used in the aberrant cells. The future will probably
sized Rayleigh particles at that time was early work with BECs. Atom tweezer traps see greater use of tweezers to study
proof of the validity of tweezer traps. were considered, at the time, to be too weak measured drug doses delivered to single
Indeed, tweezer atom traps worked shortly and too small to hold enough atoms for cells by optical poration. I expect more
afterwards and we achieved a moment of evaporative cooling. This attitude greatly work on cell and amoeboid locomotion
fame by having our achievement proclaimed disturbed me. Finally, it was realized that and bacterial flagella. In the physical
on the first page of the Sunday New York optical dipole or tweezer traps were far sciences, BECs can help solve the problems
Times. This and subsequent work led to superior to magneto-optical traps for BEC of high-temperature superconductivity.
Steven Chu, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and work. Tweezers can hold as many as 108 Optically produced BECs have been
William Phillips receiving the 1997 Nobel atoms at extremely high densities of about called “a gift from heaven” by the Nobel
Prize for Physics “for the development 1015 atoms per cubic centimetre and are laureate Frank Wilczek, who works on
of methods to cool and trap atoms with capable of trapping all magnetic sub-levels. quark superfluids. The optical cooling
laser light.” Steven Chu left shortly after Importantly, optical tweezers allowed the of macroscopic particles to ultralow
for Stanford and I started to work with my dispersive magnetic Feshbach resonances temperatures down to the quantum regime
assistant, Joseph Dziedzic, on the trapping of to be tuned using an external magnetic opens up fascinating new applications. The
the tobacco mosaic virus, bacteria and other field. This is important because all the basic use of ultrasensitive tweezer force detection
biological particles and living organisms. properties of BECs depend on the size and should be pursued for gravitational
That led to a whole new field of applications sign of a single parameter: the scattering detectors and precise measurements of
for optical trapping and manipulation in length. Near a Feshbach resonance, one can electronic charge and other fundamental
biology and the life sciences. Tweezers and dispersively tune the scattering length and constants. Schemes for true continuous-
other gradient traps have ultimately become vary the interaction. Almost every recent wave atom lasers should also be pursued.
the true work-horses of optical trapping BEC experiment relies on tuning a magnetic Tweezer trapping is a technique — not
and manipulation. or optical Feshbach resonance. just a single subject — that has unique
capabilities for studying many types of
■■ Is it difficult to make tweezers and other ■■ What notable achievements have used particles. As such, it will probably continue
optical traps? optical tweezers? to be useful long into the future.
It is easy to make optical traps and Recently, BECs have been used to study
tweezers for micrometre-sized dielectric superfluidity, superconductivity, the Interview by Rachel Won

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