The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 14, 2025
Filed:
Mar. 13, 2022
U.s. Army Devcom, Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD (US);
Jessica A. Arnold, Chevy Chase, MD (US);
Aimable Kalume, Adelphi, MD (US);
Yongle Pan, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Gorden Videen, Silver Spring, MD (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for trapping and holding airborne particles using an orienting hollow beam are disclosed. In the various embodiments, an optical trap comprises: a light source for generating a beam of light; optics and/or mechanics for forming and shaping the beam of light into an orienting hollow beam having unequal axisymmetry with a substantially hollow ring geometry cross-section and no angular momentum; an optical focusing element for focusing the orienting hollow beam; and a trapping region where an airborne particle can be present to be trapped and held at or near a focal point of the focused optical focusing element. In this arrangement, the particle is trapped at or near the focal point of the focused orienting hollow beam. In this arrangement, the particle is trapped at or near the focal point of the focused orienting hollow beam. The orienting hollow beam may be made rotatable in some embodiments.