Electrophoretic Versus Dielectrophoretic Nanoparticle Patterning Using Optoelectronic Tweezers

Abstract

So-called ``photovoltaic tweezers'' are an emerging tool for trapping, manipulating, and sorting objects at the micro- and nanoscales. This technology exploits the strong electric fields generated inside some ferroelectrics under illumination, without any electrodes, voltage supply, or lithography. As these tweezers have been used mostly for electrically neutral objects, this study extends their applicability to $c\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}h\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}g\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}d$ objects. This is significant for handling $e.g.$ DNA molecules in biotechnology. This article's conclusions could also inform other techniques that use electric fields for particle manipulation.