Fluorescence ratio thermometry in a microfluidic dual-beam laser trap

The dual-beam laser trap is a versatile tool with many possible applications. In order to characterize its thermal properties in a microfluidic trap geometry we have developed a non-intrusive fluorescence ratio technique using the temperature sensitive dye Rhodamine B and the temperature independent reference dye Rhodamine 110. We measured temperature distribution profiles in the trap with submicron spatial resolution on a confocal laser-scanning microscope. The maximum heating in the center of the trap amounts to (13 +/- 2) degrees C/W for a wavelength of lambda = 1064 nm and scales linearly with the applied power. The measurements correspond well with simulated temperature distributions.