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Regulating Brownian Fluctuations with Tunable Microscopic Magnetic Traps

A. Chen, G. Vieira, T. Henighan, M. Howdyshell, J. A. North, A. J. Hauser, F. Y. Yang, M. G. Poirier, C. Jayaprakash, and R. Sooryakumar
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 087206 – Published 18 August 2011
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Abstract

A major challenge to achieving positional control of fluid borne submicron sized objects is regulating their Brownian fluctuations. We present a magnetic-field-based trap that regulates the thermal fluctuations of superparamagnetic beads in suspension. Local domain-wall fields originating from patterned magnetic wires, whose strength and profile are tuned by weak external fields, enable the bead trajectories within the trap to be managed and easily varied between strong confinements and delocalized spatial excursions that are described remarkably well by simulations.

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  • Received 9 March 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.087206

© 2011 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Magnetic joystick

Published 18 August 2011

A two-dimensional trap takes advantage of the magnetic domain walls in a narrow wire to guide the thermal motion of magnetic particles.

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Authors & Affiliations

A. Chen, G. Vieira, T. Henighan, M. Howdyshell, J. A. North, A. J. Hauser, F. Y. Yang, M. G. Poirier, C. Jayaprakash, and R. Sooryakumar

  • Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 8 — 19 August 2011

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