Double-arm optical tweezer system for precise and dexterous handling of micro-objects in 3D workspace

Double-arm manipulators are unfamiliar as equipment used in microscopic work in biomedical laboratories, whereas they are prevalent in factory automation and humanoids. For non-contact micromanipulation in three-dimensional (3D) workspaces, we propose and design a double-arm optical tweezer system that can easily exchange two types of end-effectors (i.e., optical landscapes for laser trapping) with a focus tunable lens and a microlens array. With a time-shared scanning approach under interactive personal computer (PC) mouse controls, the system can perform the precise and dexterous handling of micro-objects in a 3D workspace. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the two-dimensional (2D) and 3D dexterous handling of microbeads in the motions of solving puzzle rings. We also demonstrate the precise and periodic patterning of microbeads for massive dynamic arrays. This double-arm system can be applied with versatile tools used for various non-contact micromanipulations in the biomedical field and for dynamic arrays in single cell and 3D biology.