English

Professor Wu Dong's team at the University of Science and Technology of China created a "dancing microrobot" using femtosecond laser composite materials.

131
2023-08-11 14:28:54
See translation
It was learned from the University of Science and Technology of China that the team of Professor Wu Dong of the Micro and Nano Engineering Laboratory of the school proposed a femtosecond laser two-in-one multi-material processing strategy, manufactured a micromechanical joint composed of temperature-sensitive hydrogel and metal nanoparticles, and then developed a multi-joint humanoid micromachine with a variety of deformation modes. The results were published in Nature Communications.
 
In recent years, femtosecond laser two-photon polymerization, as a true 3D processing method with nanometer precision, has been widely used to fabricate various functional microstructures. These microstructures show broad application prospects in the fields of micro-nano optics, microsensors and micromachine systems. However, how to use femtosecond laser to realize composite multi-material processing and further build micro-nano machinery with multi-mode is still a great challenge.
 
According to the researchers, the femtosecond laser two-in-one processing strategy includes the construction of hydrogel joints using asymmetric two-photon polymerization and the deposition of silver nanoparticles by laser reduction in local areas of joints. Among them, asymmetric photopolymerization technology can produce anisotropy in the cross-linking density of the local region of the hydrogel micro-joint, and finally make the bending deformation controllable in direction and Angle. In situ laser reduction deposition can accurately process silver nanoparticles on hydrogel joints. These silver nanoparticles have a strong photothermal conversion effect, which makes the mode switching of multi-joint micromachines exhibit excellent characteristics of ultra-short response time and ultra-low drive power. 
 
As a typical example, eight micro-joints are integrated into a humanoid micromachine. Spatial light modulation technology is then used to achieve a multi-focus beam in 3D space, which in turn precisely stimulates each micro-joint. The cooperative deformation between multiple joints enables the humanoid micromanipulator to complete multiple reconfigurable deformation modes. Finally, the "dancing microrobot" was realized at the micron scale. As a proof of concept, by designing the distribution and deformation direction of the micro-joints, the double-jointed micro-robotic arm can collect multiple micro-particles in the same and different directions.
 
According to the researchers, the femtosecond laser two-in-one machining strategy can construct deformable micro-joints in various local areas of three-dimensional microstructures, and achieve a variety of reconfigurable deformation modes. In the future, micromanipulators with multiple deformation modes will show broad application prospects in micro-cargo collection, microfluidic manipulation and cell manipulation.
 
Source: Science and Technology Daily
Related Recommendations
  • Bohong has developed a new type of ultrafast laser for material processing

    Chief researcher Clara Saraceno will bring the new laser to the market with the support of ERC funding.Femtosecond lasers can be used to create high-precision microstructures, such as those required for smartphone displays and various automotive technology applications.Professor Clara Saraceno from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany is committed to developing and introducing cheaper and more effic...

    2023-08-22
    See translation
  • MKS Instruments announces full year 2024 financial report

    Recently, MKS Instruments released its Q4 and full year financial results for 2024. According to the report, MKS's revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 reached $935 million, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%, with a GAAP net income of $90 million; In 2024, the annual revenue was nearly 3.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 0.9%. GAAP net revenue was 190 million US dollars, turning los...

    02-20
    See translation
  • Germany has developed direct laser welding technology to achieve adhesive free connection from fiber to chip

    Recently, researchers and their partners from the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microstructure (IZM) in Germany announced the successful development of a laser welding technology that can efficiently fix optical fibers onto photonic integrated circuits (PICs) without the need for adhesive bonding.This technology is developed in response to biophoton sensing technology, mainly utilizing ...

    2023-08-22
    See translation
  • Progress in Theoretical Research on the Mechanism of Liquid Terahertz Wave Generation by Precision Measurement Institute

    Terahertz waves have significant application value in communication and imaging. The nonlinear interaction between strong field ultrafast laser and matter is one of the important ways to generate terahertz waves. The experimental and theoretical research related to terahertz generation media such as plasma, gas, and crystal is relatively sufficient. However, liquid water is a strong absorbing medi...

    2024-03-22
    See translation
  • Laser based ultra precision gas measurement technology

    Laser gas analysis can achieve high sensitivity and selectivity in gas detection. The multi-component capability and wide dynamic range of this detection method help analyze gas mixtures with a wide concentration range. Due to the fact that this method does not require sample preparation or pre concentration, it is easy to adopt in the laboratory or industry.Gas analysis is crucial for determining...

    2024-01-03
    See translation