Optical tweezers, Arthur Ashkin's Nobel Prize-winning invention, revolutionized biological system studies. Building on this, we have developed advanced optical manipulation techniques that use light to control interactions, transformations, and movements at micro- and nanoscales. Combining direct physical manipulation with light-induced thermal and chemical effects, our innovations enhance versatility, enable broader material manipulation, and operate with lower power in user-friendly setups. These breakthroughs advance precision measurement, nanomanufacturing, active matter, and micro/nanorobotics, with wide-ranging applications in life sciences, quantum technologies, healthcare, energy, and sustainability.
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We harness dual-faceted optical manipulation—manipulation by light and of light—in spectroscopy and microscopy to reveal biological structures and functions with exceptional sensitivity, resolution, and speed. Enhanced optical microscopy with rotation and machine learning enables volumetric imaging and precise organism classification. An adhesion frequency assay profiles cell-cell interactions, while chiroptical spectroscopy offers label-free, ultrasensitive enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules. These innovations expand optical measurement capabilities, advancing life sciences, space exploration, pharmaceutical quality control, and disease diagnosis.
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When arranged into nano-architected materials like metamaterials, discrete nanostructures enable novel optical phenomena, revolutionizing light manipulation. We design these materials for applications in optical sensing, photochemistry, solar energy, radiative cooling, optical computing, and quantum communication. Inspired by nature and leveraging machine learning, we customize nano-architectures for specific needs. Our advanced optical techniques enable green, on-demand fabrication and precise property measurements at single-structure and ensemble scales.
