Transverse optical gradient force in untethered rotating metaspinners

Einstom Engay; Mahdi Shanei; Vasilii Mylnikov; Gan Wang; Peter Johansson; Giovanni Volpe; Mikael Käll

doi:10.1038/s41377-024-01720-x

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Transverse optical gradient force in untethered rotating metaspinners

Original Articles

- Transverse optical gradient force in untethered rotating metaspinners
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 2, Pages: 344-355(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
  2.Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
  3.School of Science and Technology, Örebro University, 701 82 Örebro, Sweden
- Author bio：
  
  Mikael Käll (mikael.kall@chalmers.se)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-024-01720-x
  CLC：
- Received：19 August 2024，
  
  Revised：08 December 2024，
  
  Accepted：2024-12-13，
  
  Published Online：08 January 2025，
  
  Published：28 February 2025
- Accepted：
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Engay, E. et al. Transverse optical gradient force in untethered rotating metaspinners. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 344-355 (2025).
DOI：

Engay, E. et al. Transverse optical gradient force in untethered rotating metaspinners. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 344-355 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-024-01720-x.

摘要

Abstract

Nanostructured dielectric metasurfaces offer unprecedented opportunities to control light-matter momentum exchange

and thereby the forces and torques that light can exert on matter. Here we introduce optical metasurfaces as components of ultracompact untethered microscopic

metaspinners

capable of efficient light-induced rotation in a liquid environment. Illuminated by weakly focused light

a metaspinner generates torque via photon recoil through the metasurfaces' ability to bend light towards high angles despite their sub-wavelength thickness

thereby creating orbital angular momentum. We find that a metaspinner is subject to an anomalous transverse lateral optical gradient force that acts in concert with the classical gradient force. Consequently

when two or more metaspinners are trapped together in a laser beam

they collectively orbit the optical axis in the opposite direction to their spinning motion

in stark contrast to rotors coupled through hydrodynamic or mechanical i

nteractions. The metaspinners delineated herein not only serve to illustrate the vast possibilities of utilizing optical metasurfaces for fundamental exploration of optical torques

but they also represent potential building-blocks of artificial active matter systems

light-driven micromachinery

and general-purpose optomechanical devices.

关键词

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references

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