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Light-induced self-assembly of active rectification devices.

Joakim Stenhammar¹, Raphael Wittkowski², Davide Marenduzzo³

¹Division of Physical Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.

Science Advances

|April 7, 2016

Summary

Researchers demonstrate a novel method to create active rectification devices from light-controlled particles. By manipulating light patterns, these microswimmers can be guided, enabling new possibilities in self-assembly and microfluidics.

Keywords:

Active Brownian particles Active matter Brownian dynamics Colloids Computer simulation Motile bacteria Statistical thermodynamics biophysics self-assembly soft matter

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Area of Science:

Physics
Soft Matter Physics
Microfluidics

Background:

Self-propelled colloidal objects exhibit microscopically irreversible dynamics, similar to living systems.
Incoherent motion of microswimmers can be harnessed using microfluidic devices for directed movement.
Existing methods often require pre-structured devices or complex fabrication processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To computationally demonstrate the creation of active rectification devices from unstructured light-controlled particles.
To explore a novel many-body rectification mechanism driven by light and particle interactions.
To investigate the potential for programmable self-assembly of active devices.

Main Methods:

Utilizing spatially modulated illumination to control local propulsion speed of light-controlled motile particles.
Implementing spatial symmetry breaking (e.g., chevron light patterns).
Incorporating strong inter-particle interactions, such as volume exclusion, leading to density-dependent slowdown.

Main Results:

A novel, many-body rectification mechanism was identified, driven by four key factors: microscopic irreversibility, speed modulation, spatial symmetry breaking, and volume exclusion.
Demonstrated that light patterns can programmatically control particle behavior for rectification.
Showcased the potential for self-assembly of active rectification devices from a disordered particle bath.

Conclusions:

Standard spatial light modulator technology can be used to create active rectification devices.
Programmable, light-induced self-assembly of active devices from unstructured particle baths is feasible.
This approach offers a new paradigm for designing microfluidic systems and active matter devices.