Heat-Mediated Optical Manipulation

Abstract

Progress in optical manipulation has stimulated remarkable advances in a wide range of fields, including materials science, robotics, medical engineering, and nanotechnology. This Review focuses on an emerging class of optical manipulation techniques, termed heat-mediated optical manipulation. In comparison to conventional optical tweezers that rely on a tightly focused laser beam to trap objects, heat-mediated optical manipulation techniques exploit tailorable optothermo–matter interactions and rich mass transport dynamics to enable versatile control of matter of various compositions, shapes, and sizes. In addition to conventional tweezing, more distinct manipulation modes, including optothermal pulling, nudging, rotating, swimming, oscillating, and walking, have been demonstrated to enhance the functionalities using simple and low-power optics. We start with an introduction to basic physics involved in heat-mediated optical manipulation, highlighting major working mechanisms underpinning a variety of manipulation techniques. Next, we categorize the heat-mediated optical manipulation techniques based on different working mechanisms and discuss working modes, capabilities, and applications for each technique. We conclude this Review with our outlook on current challenges and future opportunities in this rapidly evolving field of heat-mediated optical manipulation.

Experimental Study of Transverse Trapping Forces of an Optothermal Trap Close to an Absorbing Reflective Film

“…Over recent decades, optothermal manipulation techniques [1][2][3][4] have become useful tools for manipulating micro-objects such as microparticles [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], or microbubbles [13][14][15][16][17], etc. The optothermal methods manipulate the micro-objects by exerting the optothermal forces, which are based on various light-induced thermal processes [1] such as Marangoni convection [18], thermophoresis [19], thermophoretic depletion [20], thermoelectricity [21][22][23], and photophoresis [24][25][26].…”

Magnetically Enhanced Marangoni Convection for Efficient Mass and Heat Transfer like a Self‐Driving Liquid Conveyor Belt

“…Besides heat transfer, the displacements of plastic membranes on the ferrofluid surface make it also an efficient mass transfer conveyor belt and many other microfluidic devices. [31][32][33][34]…”

Non-Invasive Dynamic Reperfusion of Microvessels In Vivo Controlled by Optical Tweezers

“…Azimuthally polarized beams achieve higher axial trapping efficiency and lower photodamage than linearly polarized Gaussian beams when used for optical trapping of individual RBCs ( Yu et al, 2020 ). Moreover, many indirect-based cell manipulation strategies have been developed to significantly avoid photodamage to the target cell ( Chowdhury et al, 2013a ; Xie et al, 2018b ; Stoev et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2022 ). Previous reports suggesting that the photodamage can be totally eliminated for pushing-based cell manipulation, as opposed to occurrence rates of 67 and 33% for direct trapping and tool attachment or gripping, respectively, ( Chowdhury et al, 2013b ; Banerjee et al, 2014 ).…”