Robust orbital angular momentum transfer using printed diffractive optics

Reliable transfer of orbital angular momentum (OAM) to microscopic objects typically relies on high-fidelity vortex beams generated by programmable spatial light modulators or precision-fabricated phase optics. Here, we demonstrate that robust OAM transfer in optical tweezers can be achieved using static binary holograms printed on acetate films. The diffractive optics generate Laguerre–Gaussian vortex beams with sufficient spatial fidelity to induce controlled optical torque and stable rotational manipulation of polystyrene microspheres in a high-numerical-aperture optical tweezers system. Despite a diffraction efficiency of only approximately 2%, the generated beams enable reproducible particle rotation using less than 1 mW of optical power in the first diffraction order. The rotational dynamics were systematically characterized as a function of incident optical power and topological charge, revealing the expected increase in angular velocity with both parameters, consistent with OAM-driven torque in the overdamped regime. These results demonstrate that effective optical angular momentum transfer can be achieved despite the reduced power efficiency of passive printed diffractive optics. This highlights the potential of printed holographic elements as a robust, scalable, and high-damage-threshold approach for structured-light optical manipulation, with applications in microfluidics, biophysics, optomechanics, and optical trapping.