We photophoretically trap spherical airborne particles using a single radially or azimuthally polarized laser beam and show that the trapping efficiency is significantly higher for the radial polarization. The demonstrated polarization sensitivity of the photophoretic force, which is caused by polarization-dependent reflection from the particles, adds additional flexibility to the optical micromanipulation of light absorbing particles in gaseous media.

We study nonlinear propagation of light in colloidal suspension of metallic nanoparticles, in the regime of particles surface plasmon resonance. We show that the propagation exhibits features typical for purely defocusing media and the observed spatial confinement is not a real self-trapping, as for solitons, but rather than is caused by the phase modulation of the beam via nonlocal defocusing nonlinearity. We also show that the light-induced refractive index change in the suspension leads to stabilization of structured light beams. In particular, we demonstrate a stable nonlinear propagation of bright ring beams with complex states of polarization, including practically important radial and azimuthal states.

Ferroelectric domain engineering has wide applications in optical and electronic industries. Compared with traditional electric field poling, femtosecond laser poling has many advantages, such as higher fabrication resolution, 3D engineering applicability, and lower costs of production. In this review, the recent research progress on ferroelectric domain engineering with femtosecond laser pulses is presented. We show the latest results, including complex domain structures fabricated in various kinds of ferroelectric crystals, and discuss the influence of laser poling parameters and conditions on the morphologies of inverted domains and their physical mechanisms. The technical challenges to overcome in future are also briefly discussed.

The use of light for controlling objects led to the development of optical tweezers. Now, the applications have expanded into the creation of three-dimensional structures and the control of surface structures.