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In optical devices like diffraction gratings and Fresnel lenses, light wavefront is engineered through the structuring of device surface morphology, within thicknesses comparable to the light wavelength. Fabrication of such diffractive…
We experimentally investigate active motion of spherical Janus colloidal particles in a viscoelastic fluid. Self-propulsion is achieved by a local concentration gradient of a critical polymer mixture which is imposed by laser illumination.…
Optical dipole traps and fractional Talbot optical lattices based on the interference between multiple co-propagating laser beams are proposed. The variation of relative amplitudes and phases of the interfering light beams of these traps…
The study of metallic nanoparticles has a long tradition in linear and nonlinear optics [1], with current emphasis on the ultrafast dynamics, size, shape and collective effects in their optical response [2-6]. Nanoparticles also represent…
Advanced diffractive films may afford advantages over passive reflective surfaces for a variety space missions that use solar or laser in-space propulsion. Three cases are compared: Sun-facing diffractive sails, Littrow diffraction…
Robust autonomous navigation in environments with limited visibility remains a critical challenge in robotics. We present a novel approach that leverages Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) sensing using single-photon LiDAR to improve visibility and…
Comprehensive understanding of particle motion in microfluidic devices is essential to unlock novel technologies for shape-based separation and sorting of microparticles like microplastics, cells and crystal polymorphs. Such particles…
Particle-laden turbulence involves complex interactions between the dispersed and continuous phases. Given that particles can exhibit a wide range of properties, such as varying density, size, and shape, their interplay with the flow can…
Artificial microswimmers are a new technology with promising microfluidics and biomedical applications, such as directed cargo transport, microscale assembly, and targeted drug delivery. A fundamental barrier to realising this potential is…
Optical forces - studied since the earliest days of laser physics - continue to reveal rich dynamics and enable powerful tools for manipulation of objects on micro- and nanoscales, and even individual atoms. Lateral optical forces, which…
Emitting light towards on-demand directions is important for various optoelectronic applications, such as optical communication, displaying, and ranging. However, almost all existing directional emitters are assemblies of passive optical…
We consider a liquid droplet which is propelled solely by internal flow. In a simple model, this flow is generated by an autonomous actuator, which moves on a prescribed trajectory inside the droplet. In a biological system, the device…
Endowing materials with physical intelligence holds the key for a progress leap in robotic systems. In spite of the growing success for macroscopic devices, transferring these concepts to the microscale presents several challenges connected…
Unidirectional optical systems enable selective control of light through asymmetric processing of radiation, effectively transmitting light in one direction while blocking unwanted propagation in the opposite direction. Here, we introduce a…
Created surfaces or meta surfaces, composed of appropriately shaped sub-wavelength structures, namely, meta-atoms, control light at wavelength scales. Historically, meta surfaces have used radiating metallic resonators as wavelength…
Microscopic active droplets are able to swim autonomously in viscous flows: this puzzling feature stems from solute exchanges with the surrounding fluid via surface reactions or their spontaneous solubilisation, and the interfacial flows…
The aim of this paper is to describe the self-propulsion of a micro-robot (or micro-swimmer) consisting of $N$ spheres moving along a fixed line. The spheres are linked to each other by arms with the lengths changing periodically. For the…
We analyze the existence and stability of bright, dark, and gap matter-wave solitons in optical superlattices. Then, using these properties, we show that (time-dependent) ``dynamical superlattices'' can be used to controllably place, guide,…
We study the dynamics of active Janus particles that self-propel in solution by light-activated catalytic decomposition of chemical "fuel." We develop an analytical model of a photo-active self-phoretic particle that accounts for…
Particle acceleration in microstructures driven by ultrafast solid state lasers is a rapidly evolving area of advanced accelerator research, leading to a variety of concepts based on planar-symmetric dielectric gratings, hollow core fibers,…