1. Optothermal manipulation of colloidal particles and biological objects
- Author
-
Peng, Xiaolei
- Subjects
- Optothermal, Optical manipulation, Colloidal particles, Biological objects, Thermophoresis, Colloidal science, Nanotechnology
- Abstract
Optical based manipulation techniques play an important role in bottom-up assembly of micro- and nano-structures, discovery of new materials, and biomedical diagnostics. Traditional optical tweezers have limitations for the requirement of rigorous optics and high optical power. Optothermal manipulation, which exploits light-heat conversion and particle migration under a light-directed temperature field, is an emerging strategy for achieving diverse manipulation functionalities in a low-power fashion. In this work, we have developed a series of optothermal manipulation techniques, including bubble-pen lithography, opto-thermophoretic tweezers, opto-thermoelectric tweezers, and opto-thermoeletric printing. In bubble-pen lithography, microbubbles generated at solid-liquid interfaces through laser heating of a plasmonic substrate are used to pattern diverse colloidal particles on the substrate. Through directing the laser beam to move the bubble, we create arbitrary single-particle patterns and particle assemblies with different resolutions and architectures. The key to optothermal tweezers is the ability to achieve negative Soret effect, or deliver colloidal particles from cold to hot regions in a temperature field. Two types of optothermal tweezers with different driving forces are explored for versatile manipulation of colloidal particles and biological objects. Opto-thermophoretic tweezers rely on an abnormal permittivity gradient built by layered solvent molecules at the particle-solvent interface, while opto-thermoelectric tweezers exploit a thermophoresis-induced thermoelectric field for low-power trapping of nanoparticles. Furthermore, we have demonstrated opto-thermoelectric printing of colloidal particles on substrates in salt solutions and hydrogel solutions. With the low-power operation, simple optics, and diverse functionalities, optothermal manipulation techniques will find a myriad of applications in colloidal science, materials science, nanotechnology, and life sciences, as well as in developing functional colloidal devices and biomedical devices.
- Published
- 2019