Driving Metamaterial Motion With Light: A Q&A With UCSD's Prof. Ertugrul Cubukcu

Light is considered a driving force for countless innovative and maturing technologies, such as solar cells, lasers, microscopy, and spectral imaging. Unfortunately, light has always ridden “shotgun” next to the optical components controlling the application. So, what would happen if we considered light as the literal “driver” of a device’s movements? This article covers new technology for an instrument made from a plasmomechanical metamaterial that is capable of using a constant light source to manipulate its mechanical properties.