The interest in using light to propel objects has a long history. The first to suggest this idea was Johannes Kepler in the 17th century, observing that the tail of comets always points away from the sun. Since then, optical forces have been used in different configurations to grasp objects using optical tweezers, to couple optical and mechanical modes in optomechanical cavities, or, through the coupling between photons and free electrons, to use Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPPs) to modulate the mechanical motion.
Related publications
- Eduardo Gil-Santos, Valerio Pini, Álvaro San Paulo, Montserrat Calleja, Javier Tamayo, Daniel Ramos “Optical Transduction and Actuation of Subwavelength Nanomechanical Resonators” Nanocantilever Beams: Modeling, Fabrication, and Applications pp 285 (2016)
- D Ramos, IW Frank, PB Deotare, I Bulu, M Lončar “Non-linear mixing in coupled photonic crystal nanobeam cavities due to cross-coupling opto-mechanical mechanisms” Applied Physics Letters 105 (18), 181121 (2014)
- Daniel Ramos, Eduardo Gil-Santos, Oscar Malvar, Jose M Llorens, Valerio Pini, Alvaro San Paulo, Montserrat Calleja, Javier Tamayo “Silicon nanowires: where mechanics and optics meet at the nanoscale” Scientific reports 3 (1), 1-7 (2013)
- Pui-Chuen Hui, David Woolf, Eiji Iwase, Young-Ik Sohn, Daniel Ramos, Mughees Khan, Alejandro W Rodriguez, Steven G Johnson, Federico Capasso, Marko Loncar “Optical bistability with a repulsive optical force in coupled silicon photonic crystal membranes” Applied Physics Letters 103 (2), 021102 (2013)
- Eduardo Gil-Santos, D Ramos, Valerio Pini, J Llorens, Marta Fernández-Regúlez, Montserrat Calleja, J Tamayo, A San Paulo “Optical back-action in silicon nanowire resonators: bolometric versus radiation pressure effects” New Journal of Physics 15 (3), 035001 (2013)
- Daniel Ramos, Eduardo Gil-Santos, Valerio Pini, Jose M Llorens, Marta Fernández-Regúlez, Álvaro San Paulo, Montserrat Calleja, Javier Tamayo “Optomechanics with silicon nanowires by harnessing confined electromagnetic modes” Nano letters 12 (2), 932-937 (2012)
- D Ramos, J Mertens, M Calleja, J Tamayo “Phototermal self-excitation of nanomechanical resonators in liquids” Applied physics letters 92 (17), 173108 (2008)
- D Ramos, J Tamayo, J Mertens, M Calleja “Photothermal excitation of microcantilevers in liquids”Journal of applied physics 99 (12), 124904 (2006)