Manipulation of a Micro-Object Using Topological Hydrodynamic Tweezers

Abstract

Manipulating micro-scale object plays paramount roles in a wide range of fundamental researches and applications. At micro-scale, various methods have been developed in the past decades, including optical, electric, magnetic, aerodynamic and acoustic methods. However, these non-contact forces are susceptible to external disturbance, and so finding a way to make micro-scale object manipulation immune to external perturbations is challenging and remains elusive. Here we demonstrate a method based on new trapping mechanism to manipulate micro-scale object in a gas flow at ambient conditions. We first show that the micro-droplet is entrapped into a trapping ring constructed by a particular toroidal vortex. The vortex works as tweezers to control the position of the micro-droplet. We then show that the micro-droplet can be transported along the trapping ring. By virtue of the topological character of the gas flow, the transport path is able to bypass external strong perturbations automatically. We further demonstrate a topological transfer process of the micro-droplet between two hydrodynamic tweezers. Our method provides an integrated toolbox to manipulate a micro-scale object, with an intrinsic mechanism that protects the target object from external disturbances.

Mechanical dissipation below 1$μ$Hz with a cryogenic diamagnetic-levitated micro-oscillator

“…We observed a ultra-low mechanical dissipation with damping rate γ/2π of 0.59 ± 0.11 µHz at resonance frequency of 11.7 Hz, the corresponding quality factor (Q) is 2 × 10 7 . The reported mechanical dissipation is more than three orders of magnitude lower than traditional solid-state oscillators [20][21][22][23], and one to three orders lower than reported optical levitated oscillators [26][27][28], Meissner levitated [30,31] and electrical levitated oscillators [29], and also about an order of magnitude improvement over previous experiments based on the same principle but working at room temperature [32][33][34][35], the reported mechanical dissipation is even slightly smaller than the start-of-art milligram-scale pendulum oscillator [36,37]. The behavior of this system used as force and acceleration sensors is evaluated and its potential applications to realizing quantum spin-mechanics systems are discussed.…”

“…Typically, optical and electrical levitated oscillators work at room temperature due to the required power input, while on the other hand, magnetic levitated oscillators, either Meissner levitated [30,31] and diamagnetic levitated [32,33], are fully passive with no energy inputs and so naturally suitable for low temperature operation, and have recently been demonstrated to have mechanical dissipations at the order of magnitude of 10 µHz [31][32][33]. However, realization of a diamagnetic levitated oscillator operating at low temperature is still elusive [32][33][34][35].…”

“…( 1), and the sensitivity of acceleration is characterized by noise power density S aa (ω 0 ) = 4γk B T /m, which differs from that of the force in that large mass is advantageous. In principle, a magneto-gravitational trap can levitate particles of a very wide range of mass of the order of magnitude of 10 −14 [33] to 10 −3 g [34,35]. Fig.…”

Bio‐Micromotor Tweezers for Noninvasive Bio‐Cargo Delivery and Precise Therapy

“…Therefore, flexible control of cargo delivery by motor tweezers can be achieved by choosing the appropriate parameter. It is also worth noting that, unlike many hydrodynamic tweezing systems using pressure controllers or syringe pumps, [34,35] this control system only generates localized flow field, that is, there is no need to generate flows at the macro scale when manipulating the targets.…”

A Vision-Based Micro-Manipulation System

“…Micro-manipulation systems play a critical role in various scientific and industrial applications, enabling precise handling and control of microscopic objects. These systems have gained increasing importance in diverse fields such as biotechnology, materials science, and microelectronics, where the need for manipulating microscopic objects is constantly growing [1][2][3]. Precise micro-manipulation is essential, whether it involves the assembly of microelectronic components, the handling of biological samples, or the fabrication of micro-scale structures.…”