Switchable Graphene-Based Opto-Thermoelectric Tweezers with Ultralow-Power Operation

Abstract

The opto-thermoelectric tweezers, which leverage light-induced localized temperature gradients and macroscopic charge distributions, offer an energy-efficient approach for the manipulation of micro- and nano-scale particles. In this study, a 2D graphene characterized by a unique polarization-dependent response is integrated with a thermoelectric nano-tweezers platform. The resulting graphene-based thermo-electric optical tweezers, enables switchable manipulation states of particles, through precise modulation of the incident angle and polarization of the light source. Remarkably, this technique is capable of manipulating gold nanoparticles with a minimal power input as low as tens of microwatts. The findings highlight the promising role of graphene in advancing optical tweezer technology, thereby facilitating their prospective applications in nanomaterial assembly, biophysics, and scalable lab-on-chip systems.