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OPTICAL MANIPULATION

A light ride to the stars

Nature Photonics volume 13, pages 227–228 (2019)Cite this article

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By tailoring the anisotropy of light scattering along the surface of a macroscopic flat object, mechanical stabilization can be achieved without focused incident light or excessive constraints on the shape, size or material composition of the object.

The mechanical action exerted by light on matter has for centuries fascinated scientists and other curious minds. Since the first experimental observation of radiation pressure by Lebedev, back in 1900, we have witnessed tremendous advances in the manipulation of matter with light that have been key to the development of modern physics. In particular, experimental cold-atom physics took off after the first demonstration of atom cooling and manipulation with light in 1985, acknowledged by the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics. In parallel, optical trapping and manipulation of micro-objects in solution, by so-called optical tweezers, have enabled seminal contributions, especially to the fields of cellular and molecular biophysics. Arthur Ashkin, while at Bell Labs, pioneered both of these research directions. After some polemics about Ashkin being out of the 1997 laureate list, the Nobel Prize committee eventually recognized his formidable contribution to optical trapping and manipulation with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.

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Fig. 1: Passive stabilization of an optically propelled macroscopic flat object using asymmetric scattering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain

    Romain Quidant

  2. ICREA-Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain

    Romain Quidant

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  1. Romain Quidant
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Correspondence to Romain Quidant.

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Quidant, R. A light ride to the stars. Nat. Photonics 13, 227–228 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0402-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0402-x

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