Related papers: Programmable Motion of Optically Gated Electricall…

Phase-gradient metasurfaces provide powerful wavefront control through two-dimensional arrangement of nanostructures acting as metaatoms. While dynamic tuning forms a major driver for future breakthroughs and applications in this area,…

Inspired by the octopus and other animals living in water, soft robots should naturally lend themselves to underwater operations, as supported by encouraging validations in deep water scenarios. This work deals with equipping soft arms with…

Magnetic response soft robot realizes programmable shape regulation with the help of magnetic field and produces various actions. The shape control of magnetic soft robot is based on the magnetic anisotropy caused by the orderly…

Programmable photonic integrated circuits (PICs) offer a unique opportunity to create a flexible platform, akin to electronic field programmable gate array (FPGA). These photonic PGAs can implement versatile functionalities for applications…

An artificial microswimmer drifts in response to spatio-temporal modulations of an activating suspension medium. We consider two competing mechanisms capable of influencing its tactic response: angular fluctuations, which help it explore…

We propose a polarization modulation scheme of electromagnetic (EM) waves through reflection of a tunable metamaterial reflector/absorber. By constructing the metamaterial with resonant unit cells coupled by diodes, we demonstrate that the…

Materials made from active, living, or robotic components can display emergent properties arising from local sensing and computation. Here, we realize a freestanding active metabeam with piezoelectric elements and electronic feed-forward…

Active colloidal microparticles require reliable actuation to sustain directed motion. Light-based propulsion is particularly attractive as it provides persistent energy supply and enables direct spatiotemporal control. Here, we introduce…

A minimal design for a molecular swimmer is proposed that is a based on a mechanochemical propulsion mechanism. Conformational changes are induced by electrostatic actuation when specific parts of the molecule temporarily acquire net…

We demonstrate several examples of driving and steering of colloids when dispersed in nematic liquid crystals. The driving mechanism is based on the principle of nonlinear electrophoresis which is mediated by the asymmetry in the structure…

An innovative multi-functional static-passive electromagnetic skin (SP-EMS) solution is proposed to simultaneously support, in reflection, two independent wave-manipulation functionalities with a single meta-atoms arrangement on the EMS…

We propose an all-optical anti-waveguide mechanism for steering, splitting, and cloning of an optical beam beyond the diffraction-limit. We use a spatially inhomogeneous pump beam to create an anti-waveguide structure in a Doppler broadened…

Optical frequency combs, with precise control of repetition rate and carrier-envelope-offset frequency, have revolutionized many fields, such as fine optical spectroscopy, optical frequency standards, ultra-fast science research,…

Controlling the interaction between localized optical and mechanical excitations has recently become possible following advances in micro- and nano-fabrication techniques. To date, most experimental studies of optomechanics have focused on…

The mechanical behavior of any semiconductor microstructure is inevitably coupled to light. In the case of micro mechanical resonators (MEMs), carrier generation can affect the quality factor of the resonance through electron-phonon…

Spontaneous low-frequency oscillations on the order of several hertz are the drivers of many crucial processes in nature. From bacterial swimming to mammal gaits, the conversion of static energy inputs into slowly oscillating electrical and…

Active materials take advantage of their internal sources of energy to self-organize in an automated manner. This feature provides a novel opportunity to design micron-scale machines with minimal required control. However, self-organization…

Photomechanical liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are responsive polymers that can convert light directly into mechanical deformation. This unique feature makes these materials an attractive candidate for soft actuators capable of remote and…

We exploit free-space interactions between electron beams and tailored light fields to imprint on-demand phase profiles on the electron wave functions. Through rigorous semiclassical theory involving a quantum description of the electrons,…

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…