Trapped aerosol sizes under fiber-based counterpropagation optical trapping

Quantifying the size range of aerosols that can be trapped in a counterpropagation dual-fiber trapping configuration is important in understanding how these particles can be manipulated and characterized in such traps. Here, we present simulations and experiments investigating the trapped aerosol size range variations in the intermediate position of two fibers under different fiber separations, aerosol particle sizes, fiber powers, and radial offset. By doing so, we establish a parametric space plot of stable aerosol trapping, and the parametric analysis provides insight into the tolerance of such traps to trapping fluctuations.