A light-driven micrometer-sized mechanical motor is created by laser-light-induced two-photon photopolymerization. All necessary components of the engine are built upon a glass surface by an identical procedure and include the following: a rigid mechanical framework, a rotor freely rotating on an axis, and an integrated optical waveguide carrying the actuating light to the rotor. The resulting product is a most practical stand-alone system. The light introduced into the integrated optical waveguide input of the motor provides the driving force: neither optical tweezers or even a microscope are needed for the function. The power and efficiency of the motor are evaluated. The independent unit is expected to become an important component of more complex integrated lab-on-a-chip devices.
© 2006 Optical Society of America
Original Manuscript: September 20, 2005
Revised Manuscript: December 23, 2005
Manuscript Accepted: December 29, 2005
Vol. 1, Iss. 5 Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics
Lóránd Kelemen, Sándor Valkai, and Pál Ormos, "Integrated optical motor," Appl. Opt. 45, 2777-2780 (2006)