Antonio Ciarlo, Gan Wang, Marcel Rey, Mohanmmad Mahdi Shanei, Kunli Xiong, Giuseppe Pesce, Mikael Käll and Giovanni Volpe
Date: 23 August 2026
Time: 9:30 AM – 9:45 AM PDT
Place: Conv. Ctr. Room 11A
We present microscopic geared metamachines driven by optical metasurfaces and fabricated using standard lithography techniques. Metasurface elements convert incident plane-wave illumination into localized optical forces and torques, enabling direct on-chip actuation of micromechanical components without external drives. We demonstrate microscopic gear trains powered by a single optically activated gear and a pinion-and-rack micromachine capable of rotational-to-linear motion conversion and controlled mirror actuation. The platform is compatible with planar fabrication and scalable to parallel integration, providing a compact approach to chip-integrated optical actuation and micromechanical functionality.