Magnetically programmed diffractive robotics

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Smart, Conrad L.; Pearson, Tanner G.; Liang, Zexi; Lim, Melody X.; Abdelrahman, Mohamed I.; Monticone, Francesco; Cohen, Itai; Mceuen, Paul L.
• 署名单位: Cornell University; Cornell University; Cornell University; Cornell University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-12825
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adr2177
• 发表日期: 2024-11-29
• 页码: 1031-1037
• 关键词: metasurface; shape; lens

摘要

Microscopic robots with features comparable with the wavelength of light offer new ways of probing the microscopic world and controlling light at the microscale. We introduce a new class of magnetically controlled microscopic robots (microbots) that operate at the visible-light diffraction limit, which we term diffractive robots. We combined nanometer-thick mechanical membranes, programmable nanomagnets, and diffractive optical elements to create untethered microbots small enough to diffract visible light and flexible enough to undergo complex reconfigurations in millitesla-scale magnetic fields. We demonstrated their applications, including subdiffractive imaging by using a variant of structured illumination microscopy, tunable diffractive optical elements for beam steering and focusing, and force sensing with piconewton sensitivity.