Optical tweezers is an example how to use light to generate a physical force. They have been used to levitate viruses, bacteria, cells, and sub cellular organisms. Nonetheless it would be beneficial to use such force to develop a new kind of applications. However the radiation pressure usually is small to think in moving larger objects. Currently, there is some research investigating novel photonic working principles to generate a higher force. Here, we studied theoretically and experimentally the induction of electromagnetic forces in one-dimensional photonic crystals when light impinges on the off-axis direction. The photonic structure consists of a micro-cavity like structure formed of two one-dimensional photonic crystals made of free-standing porous silicon, separated by a variable air gap and the working wavelength is 633 nm. We show experimental evidence of this force when the photonic structure is capable of making auto-oscillations and forced-oscillations. We measured peak displacements and velocities ranging from 2 up to 35 microns and 0.4 up to 2.1 mm/s with a power of 13 mW. Recent evidence showed that giant resonant light forces could induce average velocity values of 0.45 mm/s in microspheres embedded in water with 43 mW light power.

Abstract. We induced forced and auto-oscillations in one-dimensional photonic crystals (1-DPCs) with localized defects when light impinges transversally to the defect layer. The photonic structure used consists of a microcavity-like structure formed of two 1-D-PCs made of freestanding porous silicon, separated by a variable air gap (the defect) and the working wavelength is 633 nm. The force generation was made evident by driving a laser light by means of a chopper; the light hit the photonic structure and induced a vibration and the vibration was characterized by using a very sensitive vibrometer. For example, we measured peak displacements and velocities ranging from 2 to 167 μm and 0.4 to 2.1 mm∕s with a power light level from 2.6 to 13 mW. In comparison, recent evidence showed that giant resonant light forces could induce average velocity values of 0.45 mm∕s in microspheres embedded in water with a 43-mW light power. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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A new structure of free-standing 1D porous silicon foils is configured to produce forces that are 500 times greater than conventional optical tweezers.