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In this Letter we show how a single beam optical trap offers the means for three-dimensional manipulation of semiconductor nanorods in solution. Furthermore rotation of the direction of the electric field provides control over the…
Newly developed high peak power lasers have opened the possibilities of driving coherent light sources operating with laser plasma accelerated beams and wave undulators. We speculate on the combination of these two concepts and show that…
A technique to measure microscopic rotational motion is presented. When a small fluorescent polystyrene microsphere is attached to a larger polystyrene microsphere, the larger sphere acts as a lens for the smaller microsphere and provides…
The growth of 3D imaging across a range of sectors has driven a demand for high performance beam steering techniques. Fields as diverse as autonomous vehicles and medical imaging can benefit from a high speed, adaptable method of beam…
With the increasing presence of social robots in various environments and applications, there is an increasing need for these robots to exhibit socially-compliant behaviors. Legible motion, characterized by the ability of a robot to clearly…
Liquid crystals (LCs) form an extremely rich range of self-assembled topological structures with artificially or naturally created topological defects. Some of the main applications of LCs are various optical and photonic devices, where…
Two transformation-optics inspired flat lenses are used to build up an optical system capable to transpose an area surrounding the object focal point in a magnified area surrounding the image focal point. The object and image focal points…
Gravitational lensing allows us to probe the structure of matter on a broad range of astronomical scales, and as light from a distant source traverses an intervening galaxy, compact matter such as planets, stars, and black holes act as…
Microengines have shown promise for a variety of applications in nanotechnology, microfluidics and nanomedicine, including targeted drug delivery, microscale pumping, and environmental remediation. However, achieving precise control over…
Spatial light modulators enable arbitrary control of the intensity of optical light fields and facilitate a variety of applications in biology, astronomy and atomic, molecular and optical physics. For coherent light fields, holography,…
The concept of metamaterials emerged in years 2000 with the achievement of artificial structures enabling non conventional propagation of electromagnetic waves, such as negative phase velocity of negative refraction. The electromagnetic…
Light-matter interactions generally involve momentum exchange between incident photons and the target object giving rise to optical forces and torques. While typically weak, they become significant at the nanoscale, driving intense research…
The motion of several self-propelled boats in a narrow channel displays spontaneous pattern formation and kinetic phase transitions. In contrast with previous studies on self-propelled particles, this model does not require stochastic…
It is shown that the interaction of an electron beam with polarized electromagnetic wave of laser photons propagating in the same direction in a short interaction region results in significant transversal deflection of the electrons which…
Active colloids, also known as artificial microswimmers, are self-propelled micro and nanoparticles that convert uniform sources of fuel (e.g. chemical) or uniform external driving fields (e.g. magnetic or electric) into directed motion by…
Biological systems often involve the self-assembly of basic components into complex and function- ing structures. Artificial systems that mimic such processes can provide a well-controlled setting to explore the principles involved and also…
We describe a new technology for the fabrication of inexpensive high-quality mirrors. We begin by chemically producing a large number of metallic nanoparticles coated with organic ligands. The particles are then spread on a liquid substrate…
This paper presents the design of a small aerial robot for inhabited microgravity environments, such as orbiting space stations (e.g., ISS). In particular, we target a fleet of robots, called Space CoBots, for collaborative tasks with…
Levitated optomechanical systems are rapidly becoming leading tools for precision sensing of forces and accelerations acting on particles in the femtogram to nanogram mass range. These systems enable a high level of control over the…
Locomotive robots that do not rely on electronics and/or electromagnetic components will open up new perspectives and applications for robotics. However, these robots usually involve complicated and tedious fabrication processes, limiting…