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arXiv · 2510.13146

Scalable Generalized Meta-Spanners Enabling Parallel Multitasking Optical Manipulation

Tianyue Li·Wenyu Gao·Boyan Fu·Tianhua Shao·Yuchao Fu·Siarhei Zavatski·Jeeban Kumar Nayak·Shaohui Yan·Xiaohao Xu·Shuming Wang·Baoli Yao·Zhenlin Wang·Shining Zhu·Olivier J. F. Martin·C. T. Chan
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Abstract

Optical manipulation techniques offer exceptional contactless control but are fundamentally limited in their ability to perform parallel multitasking. To achieve high-density, versatile manipulation with subwavelength photonic devices, it is essential to sculpt light fields in multiple dimensions. Here, we overcome this challenge by introducing generalized optical meta-spanners (GOMSs) based on metasurfaces. Relying on complex-amplitude modulation, this platform generates lens-free, customizable optical fields that suppress diffractive losses. As a result, several advanced functionalities are simultaneously achieved, including longitudinally varying manipulation and in-plane spanner arrays, which outperforms the same operations realized by conventional donut-shaped orbital flows. Furthermore, the particle dynamics is reconfigurable simply by switching the input and output polarizations, facilitating robust multi-channel control. We experimentally validate the proposed approach by demonstrating single-particle dynamics and the parallel manipulation of particle ensembles, revealing exceptional stability for multitasking operations. These results demonstrate an ultracompact platform scalable to a much larger number of optical spanners, advancing metadevices from wavefront sculptors to particle manipulators. We envision that the GOMS will catalyze innovations in cross-disciplinary fields such as targeted drug delivery and cell-level biomechanics.

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Tianyue Li, Wenyu Gao, Boyan Fu, Tianhua Shao, Yuchao Fu, Siarhei Zavatski, Jeeban Kumar Nayak, Shaohui Yan, Xiaohao Xu, Shuming Wang, Baoli Yao, Zhenlin Wang, Shining Zhu, Olivier J. F. Martin, C. T. Chan. 2025-10-15. Scalable Generalized Meta-Spanners Enabling Parallel Multitasking Optical Manipulation. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aed5302

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