Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
Photopyroelectric tweezers for versatile manipulation
Fang Wang1, Cong Liu1,2, Zhengjin Dai1,3
1Center for Intelligent Biomedical Materials and Devices (IBMD), Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenzhen 518055, China.
Abstract:
Optical tweezers and related techniques offer extraordinary opportunities for research and applications in physical, biological, and medical fields. However, certain critical requirements, such as high-intensity laser beams, sophisticated electrode designs, additional electric sources, or low-conductive media, significantly impede their flexibility and adaptability, thus hindering their practical applications. Here, we report innovative photopyroelectric tweezers (PPT) that combine the advantages of light and electric field by utilizing a rationally designed photopyroelectric substrate with efficient and durable photo-induced surface charge-generation capability, enabling diverse manipulation in various working scenarios. These PPTs allow for remote and programmable manipulation of objects with diverse materials (polymer, inorganic, and metal), different phases (bubble, liquid, and solid), and various geometries (sphere, cuboid, and wire). Furthermore, the PPT is not only adaptable to high-conductivity media but also applicable to both portable macroscopic manipulation platforms and microscopic manipulation systems, enabling cross-scale manipulations for solid objects, liquid droplets, and biological samples. The high-level flexibility and adaptability of the PPT extend to broad applications in manipulating hydrogel robots, sorting particles, assembling cells, and stimulating cells. By surpassing the limitations of conventional tweezers, the PPT bridges the gap between macroscopic and microscopic manipulations, offering a revolutionary tool in robotics, colloidal science, biomedical fields, and beyond.
Related Concept Videos
Photoelectric Effect
Overview of Electron Microscopy
Field Effect Transistor
MOSFET: Enhancement Mode
In their basic form, enhancement-mode MOSFETs are typically non-conductive when the gate-source voltage (Vgs) is zero. This default 'off' state means no current...
The Electrical Double Layer
Electronic Distance Measuring Instruments

