Actuation of cantilevers by optical trapping

Cantilevers are commonly used in microelectromechanical systems for sensing and optical switching applications. The authors demonstrate the use of optical tweezers for all optical actuation of a tapered optical fiber used as a cantilever and to drive it as a micromechanical oscillator. A fiber optic confocal detection system is used to monitor backscattered trapping light to sense the position and oscillation characteristics of the cantilever. Potential applications include optical switching and dynamic reconfigurability of photonic circuits.