The photons in circularly polarized light can transfer their quantized spin angular momentum to micro- and nanostructures via absorption and scattering. This normally exerts positive torque on the objects wher the sign (i.e., handedness or angular direction) follows that of the spin angular momentum. Here we show that the sign of the optical torque can be negative in mesoscopic optical matter arrays of metal nanoparticles (NPs) assembled in circularly polarized optical traps. Crossover from positive to negative optical torque, which occurs for arrays with different number, separation and configuration of the constituent particles, is shown to result from many-body interactions as clarified by electrodynamics simulations. Our results establish that both positive and negative optical torque can be readily realized and controlled in optical matter arrays. This property and reconfigurability of the arrays makes possible programmable materials for optomechanical, microrheological and biological applications.

The creation of optically powered self-assembling nano-to-meso-scale machines that do work is a long-standing goal in photonics. We demonstrate an optical matter (OM) machine that converts the spin angular momentum (SAM) of light into orbital angular momentum (OAM) to do mechanical work. The specific OM machine we study is based on a sixfold symmetric hexagonally ordered nanoparticle array that operates as an OM “gear” that is assembled and made to rotate in a circularly polarized Gaussian beam. The rotational symmetry of the OM gear leads to a selection rule for the allowed scattering modes based on their angular momentum. Electrodynamics calculations show that the collective scattering modes with the largest angular momentum scatter strongly in the transverse direction. Simulations and experiments show that the angular momentum that accompanies the scattered light causes a “negative torque” response on the OM gear and drives a “probe” particle placed outside the OM gear around the gear in an asymmetric force field analogously to Brownian ratchets. The gear–probe OM machine concept can be expanded to applications in nanofluidics and particle sorting.

In many developing nations, cervical cancer screening is done by visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of such screening programs is challenging. An enhanced visual assessment (EVA) system was developed to augment VIA procedures in low-resource settings. The EVA System consists of a mobile colposcope built around a smartphone, and an online image portal for storing and annotating images. A smartphone app is used to control the mobile colposcope, and upload pictures to the image portal. In this paper, a new app feature that documents clinical decisions using an integrated job aid was deployed in a cervical cancer screening camp in Kenya. Six organizations conducting VIA used the EVA System to screen 824 patients over the course of a week, and providers recorded their diagnoses and treatments in the application. Real-time aggregated statistics were broadcast on a public website. Screening organizations were able to assess the number of patients screened, alongside treatment rates, and the patients who tested positive and required treatment in real time, which allowed them to make adjustments as needed. The real-time M&E enabled by “smart” diagnostic medical devices holds promise for broader use in screening programs in low-resource settings.

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While transverse phase gradients enable studies of driven nonequilibrium phenomena in optical trapping, the behavior of electrodynamically interacting particles in a transverse phase gradient has not been explored in detail. In this Letter we study electrodynamically interacting pairs of identical nanoparticles (homodimers) in transverse phase gradients. We establish that the net driving force on homodimers is modulated by a separation-dependent interference effect for small phase gradients. By contrast, large phase gradients break the symmetry of the interaction between particles and profoundly change the electrodynamic interparticle energy landscape. Our findings are particularly important for understanding multiparticle dynamics during the self-assembly and rearrangement of optical matter.