• Advanced Photonics Nexus
  • Vol. 1, Issue 2, 026005 (2022)
Weiwei Tang1、2、3、*, Qiannan Jia2、3, Yong Wang2、3, Ding Zhao2、3, Wei Lyu2、3, Wei Yan2、3、*, and Min Qiu2、3、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Hangzhou, China
  • 2Westlake University, School of Engineering, Key Laboratory of 3D Micro/Nano Fabrication and Characterization of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
  • 3Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, China
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    DOI: 10.1117/1.APN.1.2.026005 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Weiwei Tang, Qiannan Jia, Yong Wang, Ding Zhao, Wei Lyu, Wei Yan, Min Qiu. Light-induced vacuum micromotors based on an antimony telluride microplate[J]. Advanced Photonics Nexus, 2022, 1(2): 026005 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Manipulating motion of microobjects with light is indispensable in various technologies. On solid interfaces, its realizations, however, are hampered by surface friction. To resolve this difficulty, light-induced elastic waves have been recently proposed to drive microobjects against friction. Despite its expected applicability for arbitrary optical-absorptive objects, the new principle has only been tested with microsized gold plates. Herein, we validate this principle using a new material and report directional and continuous movements of a two-dimensional topological insulator (Sb2Te3) plate on an untreated microfiber surface driven by nanosecond laser pulses. The motion performance of the Sb2Te3 plate is characterized by a scanning electron microscope. We observe that the motion velocity can be controlled by tuning the average power of laser pulses. Further, by intentionally increasing the pulse repetition rate and exploiting the low thermal conductivity of Sb2Te3, we examine the thermal effects on actuation and reveal the motion instability induced by formations of microbumps on Sb2Te3 surfaces due to the Marangoni effects. Moreover, as the formed microbumps are heated to viscoelasticity states, liquid-like motion featuring asymmetry in contact angles is observed and characterized, which expands the scope of light-induced actuation of microobjects.
    Weiwei Tang, Qiannan Jia, Yong Wang, Ding Zhao, Wei Lyu, Wei Yan, Min Qiu. Light-induced vacuum micromotors based on an antimony telluride microplate[J]. Advanced Photonics Nexus, 2022, 1(2): 026005
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