Abstract

A compact optical tweezer package has been developed for use on a microscope to be flown on the International Space Station as part of a scries of experiments in colloid crystalization. A brief introduction to the principles of single-beam optical tweezer operation will be presented, after which a detailed system layout will be shown. Special design requirements due to the spaceflight nature of the hardware will also be discussed. This is the first time optical tweezers will be deployed in a microgravity environment.

© 2001 Optical Society of America