Author(s)

Ali J. Sabbah^*, R. Hamam^#*

Math and Physics Department, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon.

Light carries linear momentum and can therefore exert a radiation force on the objects that it encounters. This established fact enabled optical manipulation of micro/nano-sized objects, as well as macroscopic objects such as solar sails, among many other important applications. While these efforts benefit from the average value of light’s linear momentum, in this article, we propose exploiting the temporal variation of light’s linear momentum to achieve an oscillatory force of microNewton amplitude and picosecond period. We validate our proposal by analytical calculations and time domain simulations of Maxwell’s equations in the case of a high-index quarter-wave slab irradiated by a terahertz plane electromagnetic wave. In particular, we show that for plane wave terahertz light of electric field amplitude 5000 V/m and frequency 4.8 THz, an oscillatory radiation pressure of amplitude 1.8 × 10^-4 N/m² and 0.1 ps period can be achieved.

Radiation Force, Optical Manipulation/Micromachines, Instantaneous Electromagnetic Linear Momentum Density, Linear Momentum Conservation, Light Driven Oscillator

Sabbah, A. and Hamam, R. (2020) A Micro-Sized Light-Driven Pico-Second Oscillator. Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics, 8, 2793-2800. doi: 10.4236/jamp.2020.812206.