Overview

• University of Gothenburg researchers report in Nature Communications a demonstration of 16–20 µm gears fabricated in silicon using standard lithography.
• Laser illumination drives the metamaterial gears, with light intensity setting rotational speed and polarization controlling direction.
• The team built functional gear trains and converted rotation to linear motion, including a microscopic rack‑and‑pinion mechanism.
• One rack‑and‑pinion ran under an 88.5 µW µm−2 circularly polarized 1064 nm laser, and its movement direction was switched by changing polarization.
• Positioned as a proof of concept, the platform points to future micromotors for lab‑on‑a‑chip systems, light or particle manipulation, and potential medical pumps or valves.