Forces in optical tweezers with radially and azimuthally polarized trapping beams

It has been suggested that radially polarized beams can be used to improve the performance of optical tweezers, with reduced scattering force resulting from both the polarization and the dark center of the beam [Opt. Lett. 32, 1839 (2007)]. We calculate the forces on particles in such traps, using rigorous electromagnetic theory, comparing the results with azimuthally polarized beam, circularly polarized LG01 beams, and Gaussian beams. Our results agree qualitatively with Opt. Lett. 32, 1839 (2007), but differ quantitatively. © 2008 Optical Society of Americ