Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Zhihan Chen, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Optothermal manipulation is a versatile technique that combines optical and thermal forces to control micro-/nanoparticles and biological entities. It overcomes the limitations of traditional optical tweezers and has a wide range of applications in biology, nanotechnology, and robotics. However, there are current challenges in experimental and modeling aspects, which need to be addressed for further advancements in this field.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xianyou Wang, Yunqi Yuan, Xi Xie, Yuquan Zhang, Changjun Min, Xiaocong Yuan
Summary: Since the discovery of graphene, its excellent physical properties have greatly improved the performance of optoelectronic devices. In this study, graphene is introduced to the field of optical-tweezer technology and a new graphene-based opto-thermoelectric tweezer is demonstrated. Compared with traditional optical tweezers, this technology significantly reduces the required incident light energy and offers advantages such as a broader working bandwidth and larger working area. The higher thermal conductivity and uniformity of graphene make it easier to process, and even monolayer graphene provides stable trapping for particles. This work showcases the potential of graphene in optical-tweezer technology and its applications in various fields.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Optics
K. Monisha, K. Suresh, Sajan D. George
Summary: The conversion of light to heat via the photothermal effect has been used to evaluate thermo-optic properties of materials, but recently it has also been used for the manipulation of colloidal objects and living cells. Optothermal manipulation techniques utilize lower optical power and can manipulate particles over a long range compared to conventional optical tweezers. This review discusses the working mechanisms, concepts, and applications of recently established optothermal techniques, as well as the physical mechanisms behind the optical manipulation.
LASER & PHOTONICS REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Diptabrata Paul, Rahul Chand, G. V. Pavan Kumar
Summary: In this study, the thermophoretic behavior of active colloids was investigated through optothermal interaction, and a re-configurable dynamic assembly was formed using the optical gradient-enabled attraction and short-range repulsion between the colloids. The assembly also exhibited self-evolution as a new colloid joined the structure. Additionally, the structural orientation of the colloids could be modulated by the incident polarization state of the optical field.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hongru Ding, Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Linhan Lin, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Optothermal tweezers, with superior manipulation capability at low optical intensity, are limited by implicit understanding of the working mechanism. By revealing the atomistic view of opto-thermo-electro-mechanic coupling, we have developed high-performance tweezers using low-concentrated electrolytes and demonstrated their efficiency in separating colloidal particles based on surface charge differences.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shaofeng Liu, Linhan Lin, Hong-Bo Sun
Summary: The optical manipulation of tiny objects is crucial for materials science and life science, involving direct and indirect optomechanical coupling. Traditional optical tweezers require high optical power and rigorous optics, while opto-thermophoretic manipulation techniques feature low optical power and high efficiency as a new emerging approach.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianxing Zhou, Xiaoqi Dai, Yuhang Peng, Yili Zhong, Ho-Pui Ho, Yonghong Shao, Bruce Zhi Gao, Junle Qu, Jiajie Chen
Summary: Optical tweezers have been widely used in biological and biochemistry studies, but the limitations of optical diffraction and thermal damage have hindered their application in the biological field. The emergence of optothermal tweezers has partially solved these problems, but the biocompatibility of the auxiliary agents used still remains a challenge. In this study, a nanotweezers based on the sign transformation of thermophoresis coefficient in a low-temperature environment was developed, which allows the manipulation of nanoparticles at lower laser power without additional agents.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianxing Zhou, Xiaoqi Dai, Yuhang Peng, Yili Zhong, Ho-Pui Ho, Yonghong Shao, Bruce Zhi Gao, Junle Qu, Jiajie Chen
Summary: Nanotweezers based on the sign transformation of the thermophoresis coefficient provide a new method for manipulating nanoparticles without the need for additional agents, expanding the applications of optical tweezers in the biological field.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Ramin Jamali, Farzaneh Nazari, Azadeh Ghaffari, Sabareesh K. P. Velu, Ali-Reza Moradi
Summary: The study explores the use of speckle tweezers (ST) to manipulate low index micro-particles by repelling them from high intensity regions to lower intensity regions for local confinement. The experiments validate the method and show that ST can also manipulate nanoparticle (NP)-loaded liposomes, enabling collective manipulation of drug micro-containers.
Article
Optics
Jiajie Chen, Zhi Chen, Changle Meng, Jianxing Zhou, Yuhang Peng, Xiaoqi Dai, Jingfeng Li, Yili Zhong, Xiaolin Chen, Wu Yuan, Ho-Pui Ho, Bruce Zhi Gao, Junle Qu, Xueji Zhang, Han Zhang, Yonghong Shao
Summary: Optothermal nanotweezers have been developed as an innovative optical manipulation technique that combines optothermal manipulation and CRISPR-based bio-detection. This innovative approach endows optical tweezers with the ability to identify DNA in aqueous solutions.
LIGHT-SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongru Ding, Zhihan Chen, Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Yaoran Liu, Youngsun Kim, Suichu Huang, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: This study develops an optothermal platform for versatile manipulation of synthetic micro/nanoparticles and live cells using an ultralow-power laser beam and a simple optical setup. Five working modes can be switched through computer programming, and programmable multimodal control of micro/nanoparticles is achieved by incorporating a feedback control system.
Article
Optics
Mohsen Samadi, Pooya Alibeigloo, Abolfazl Aqhili, Mohammad Ali Khosravi, Farahnaz Saeidi, Shoaib Vasini, Mostafa Ghorbanzadeh, Sara Darbari, Mohammad Kazem Moravvej-Farshi
Summary: Plasmonic tweezers are indispensable tools for manipulating micro and nano-objects with high precision, utilizing surface plasmon technology to trap particles beyond the diffraction limit. Trapping-potential landscape can be reconfigured by designing plasmonic nanostructures.
OPTICS AND LASERS IN ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiajie Chen, Jianxing Zhou, Yuhang Peng, Xiaoqi Dai, Yan Tan, Yili Zhong, Tianzhong Li, Yanhua Zou, Rui Hu, Ximin Cui, Ho-Pui Ho, Bruce Zhi Gao, Han Zhang, Yu Chen, Meiting Wang, Xueji Zhang, Junle Qu, Yonghong Shao
Summary: This study presents a highly adaptable optothermal nanotweezers that can manipulate nanoparticles of various types and sizes. It introduces a novel optothermal doughnut-shaped vortex trapping strategy that enables a new mode of physical interaction between nanoparticles and cells.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Weina Zhang, Mingcong Wen, Pu Liu, Guowei Yang, Hongxiang Lei
Summary: Metal nanowires are difficult to manipulate optically due to their high absorption and scattering characteristics, but a microsphere-assisted indirect optical manipulation method has been proposed in this study. By actuating a microsphere to generate a microvortex, a single Ag nanowire can be precisely rotated and oriented without direct interaction between the light and the nanowires. This method is simple, general, and has great significance for the fabrication of optoelectronic nanodevices.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Xixi Chen, Yanan Zhao, Yao Zhang, Baojun Li, Yuchao Li, Lingxiang Jiang
Summary: This article provides an overview of the important role of optical manipulation in soft matter research, discussing the optical mechanisms governing the interaction between light and soft matter materials. It also explores the wide range of applications and future prospects that arise from the collaboration between optical manipulation and soft matter materials in emerging fields.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongru Ding, Zhihan Chen, Carolina Ponce, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Due to their contactless and fuel-free operation, optical rotation techniques have great potential in various fields such as cellular biology, 3D imaging, and micro/nanorobotics. However, the complexity of optics, high power requirements, and limitations in object applicability hinder their broader use. This Feature Article focuses on a new class of optical rotation techniques called optothermal rotation, which utilizes light-mediated thermal phenomena to enable versatile and simpler rotary control of objects with lower power. The article provides an overview of the fundamental thermal phenomena and concepts involved in optothermal rotation and categorizes the techniques based on their rotation modes and thermal phenomena. The potential applications of optothermal manipulation techniques in areas like single-cell mechanics, 3D bio-imaging, and micro/nanomotors are also discussed, along with insights on operating guidelines, challenges, and future directions.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jingang Li, Rundi Yang, Yoonsoo Rho, Penghong Ci, Matthew Eliceiri, Hee K. Park, Junqiao Wu, Costas P. Grigoropoulos
Summary: The distribution and dynamics of carriers in semiconductor materials play a crucial role in their physical properties and performance in industrial applications. As electronic and photonic devices continue to shrink in size, there is a need for tools to study carrier behavior at picosecond time and nanometer length scales. In this study, we present pump-probe optical nanoscopy to investigate carrier dynamics in silicon nanostructures. By combining experiments with the point-dipole model, we are able to determine the size-dependent lifetime of photoexcited carriers in individual silicon nanowires. Additionally, we demonstrate the mapping of local carrier decay time in silicon nanostructures with sub-50 nm spatial resolution. This study enables the nanoimaging of ultrafast carrier kinetics and has promising applications in the design of various electronic, photonic, and optoelectronic devices.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Zhihan Chen, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Optothermal manipulation is a versatile technique that combines optical and thermal forces to control micro-/nanoparticles and biological entities. It overcomes the limitations of traditional optical tweezers and has a wide range of applications in biology, nanotechnology, and robotics. However, there are current challenges in experimental and modeling aspects, which need to be addressed for further advancements in this field.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongru Ding, Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Kan Yao, Yiran Chang, Daniel J. Dickinson, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Optical tweezers offer contact-free manipulation of small objects, but require sophisticated imaging and feedback systems for controlled motion. We develop an optothermal platform that enables multimodal manipulation of micro/nanoparticles along various surfaces, including both synthesized particles and biological cells. With this platform, we can achieve localized control of biological functions on rough surfaces of live worms and their embryos. This multimodal optothermal platform will be a powerful tool in life sciences, nanotechnology, and colloidal sciences.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jie Fang, Suichu Huang, Kan Yao, Tianyi Zhang, Mauricio Terrones, Wentao Huang, Yunlu Pan, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Tunable exciton-photon couplings have been demonstrated in monolayer TMDs, showing strong bright-exciton-photon couplings and revealing the novel interactions between bright and dark exciton-photon hybrids in a single optical cavity. The waveguide mode can be tuned in wavelengths by controlling the spacer thickness, and the relative contribution from the antenna mode coupled with dark excitons can be dynamically enlarged by increasing the excitation angle. This study opens new possibilities in tunable QED and provides insights into the coexistence of bright and dark exciton-photon couplings.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yaoran Liu, Rohit Unni, Xin Lou, Mingcheng Yang, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: This article introduces a high-resolution 3D imaging and classification technique based on optical microscopy coupled with optothermal rotation. It is applicable to any suspended organism in clinical samples, enabling contact-free and biocompatible 3D imaging.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Anand Swain, Zhihan Chen, Yaoran Liu, Zilong Wu, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Thermal-tape-transfer printing enables the fabrication of large-scale and homogeneous moire chiral metamaterials (MCMs) with arbitrary twist angles and tunable optical chirality. This opens doors to various biological, photonic, and optoelectronic applications.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yaoran Liu, Zilong Wu, Daniel W. Armstrong, Herman Wolosker, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: The chirality of small metabolic molecules plays an important role in physiological processes and health assessment. Abnormal ratios of enantiomers in biofluids and tissues are associated with various diseases. Chiral small molecules show great potential as biomarkers for disease diagnosis, prognosis, drug-effect monitoring, pharmacodynamics, and personalized medicine. However, analyzing small chiral molecules in clinical settings remains challenging due to their diversity and low concentration levels.
NATURE REVIEWS CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhihan Chen, Hongru Ding, Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Jingang Li, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Researchers propose a novel optical feedback control system that can mimic collective motion observed in living objects. This system allows for experimental investigation of velocity alignment in a perturbed environment, and spontaneous formation of different moving states and dynamic transitions were observed.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tiancheng Zhang, Kaichen Dong, Jiachen Li, Fanhao Meng, Jingang Li, Sai Munagavalasa, Costas P. Grigoropoulos, Junqiao Wu, Jie Yao
Summary: In this work, a non-trivial twist-enabled coupling mechanism was identified and formulated in twisted bilayer photonic crystals, resulting in the generation of optical vortices. This study expands the field of moire photonics and opens up new possibilities for its applications.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Xiuying Li, Jingang Li, Zhihan Chen, Hongru Ding, Youngsun Kim, Suichu Huang, Zhenpeng Qin, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: This article introduces the low-temperature opto-thermophoretic tweezers (HOTTs) technology, which achieves low-power trapping of diverse colloids and biological cells at sub-ambient temperatures through an environmental cooling strategy. At the same time, HOTTs can also suppress thermal damage. With their noninvasiveness and versatile capabilities, HOTTs have great potential for research and applications in materials science and biotechnology.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Optics
Youngsun Kim, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: By decoupling temperature and flow fields, ISO-FLUCS enables precise control over fluid manipulation while minimizing thermal damage through symmetry-correlated laser scan sequences. Quasi-isothermal optofluidic streaming is achieved.
LIGHT-SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Marcel Herber, Ana Jimenez Amaya, Nicklas Giese, Bharath Bangalore Rajeeva, Yuebing Zheng, Eric H. Hill
Summary: The printing of layered silicate nanoclays using a laser-directed microbubble was established, and the influence of surface chemistry on the resulting assembly was studied. This work also demonstrated the potential of this method in fabricating ultrasensitive molecular sensors.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Danqing Wang, Kaichen Dong, Jingang Li, Costas Grigoropoulos, Jie Yao, Jin Hong, Junqiao Wu
Summary: Optical materials with nearly zero refractive indices can be used as cladding layers for low-loss optical waveguides to optimize their performance and achieve smaller sizes and lower crosstalk. In addition, hollow waveguides with near-zero-index cladding layers support low-loss light propagation.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pavana Siddhartha Kollipara, Ritvik Mahendra, Jingang Li, Yuebing Zheng
Summary: Laser-based bubble-pen lithography (BPL) is an emerging fabrication method that enables high-resolution miniaturization and on-demand patterning of functional components. It utilizes laser-controlled microbubbles to attract and immobilize particles, ions, and molecules. BPL has experienced tremendous progress in theory, engineering, and application, and has diverse applications in fields such as quantum dot displays, biological and chemical sensing, and clinical diagnosis.
