Versatile Multilayer Metamaterial Nanoparticles with Tailored Optical Constants for Force and Torque Transduction

The ability to apply force and torque directly to micro- and nanoscale particles in optical traps has a wide range of applications. While full control of both force and torque in three dimensions has been realized using top-down fabrication of rod-shaped particles composed of birefringent crystalline materials, widespread usage of such...

Applications of Optical Birefringence: With Natural-Materials and Meta-Materials

The beauty of optical birefringence lies in the fact that it provides an independent control of light over different polarization directions, which leads to many important applications in today's optical systems. This thesis describes the applications of existing naturally-occurring birefringent materials as well as the engineered formed...

Single-Crystal Rutile TiO ₂ Nanocylinders are Highly Effective Transducers of Optical Force and Torque

Optical trapping of (sub)micron-sized particles is broadly employed in nanoscience and engineering. The materials commonly employed for these particles, however, have physical properties that limit the transfer of linear or angular momentum (or both). This reduces the magnitude of forces and torques, and the spatiotemporal resolution,...