Materials challenges for the Starshot lightsail
The Starshot Breakthrough Initiative established in 2016 sets an audacious goal of sending
a spacecraft beyond our Solar System to a neighbouring star within the next half-century. Its …
a spacecraft beyond our Solar System to a neighbouring star within the next half-century. Its …
Self-stabilizing photonic levitation and propulsion of nanostructured macroscopic objects
O Ilic, HA Atwater - Nature Photonics, 2019 - nature.com
Light is a powerful tool to manipulate matter, but existing approaches often necessitate
focused, high-intensity light that limits the manipulated object's shape, material and size …
focused, high-intensity light that limits the manipulated object's shape, material and size …
Photonic metasurfaces as relativistic light sails for doppler‐broadened stable beam‐riding and radiative cooling
MM Salary, H Mosallaei - Laser & Photonics Reviews, 2020 - Wiley Online Library
In this work, an all‐dielectric photonic metasurface with a flat macroscopic geometry is
shown to provide a viable solution toward realization of a relativistic light sail driven by …
shown to provide a viable solution toward realization of a relativistic light sail driven by …
Stable diffractive beam rider
A passively stable laser-driven lightsail is described, which makes use of a spatially variant
“bi-grating” sail with a mass (payload) attached to a boom (patent pending). A two …
“bi-grating” sail with a mass (payload) attached to a boom (patent pending). A two …
Multilayers for directed energy accelerated lightsails
G Santi, G Favaro, AJ Corso, P Lubin… - Communications …, 2022 - nature.com
A lightsail accelerated via directed energy is a candidate technology to send a probe into the
deep space in a time period compatible with human life. The light emitted by a ground …
deep space in a time period compatible with human life. The light emitted by a ground …
[HTML][HTML] Optomechanics of a stable diffractive axicon light sail
PR Srivastava, GA Swartzlander - The European Physical Journal Plus, 2020 - Springer
Beamed propulsion of a light sail based on radiation pressure benefits from a passively self-
stabilizing “beam riding” diffractive film. We describe the optomechanics of a rigid non …
stabilizing “beam riding” diffractive film. We describe the optomechanics of a rigid non …
Experimental verification of a bigrating beam rider
YJL Chu, NV Tabiryan, GA Swartzlander Jr - Physical review letters, 2019 - APS
An optical beam rider making use of a light sail comprising two opposing diffraction gratings
is experimentally demonstrated for the first time. We verify that the illuminated space-variant …
is experimentally demonstrated for the first time. We verify that the illuminated space-variant …
Multifunctional metasails for self-stabilized beam-riding and optical communication
The photonic propulsion of lightsails can be used to accelerate spacecraft to relativistic
velocities, providing a feasible route for the exploration of interstellar space in the human …
velocities, providing a feasible route for the exploration of interstellar space in the human …
Increasing the stability margins using multi-pattern metasails and multi-modal laser beams
M Taghavi, H Mosallaei - Scientific Reports, 2022 - nature.com
Laser-driven metasails can enable reaching velocities far beyond the chemically propelled
spacecrafts, which accounts for precise engineering of the acceleration and the stability …
spacecrafts, which accounts for precise engineering of the acceleration and the stability …
General passive stability criteria for a Sun-pointing attitude using the metasurface sail
Traveling to outer space has long fascinated humanity, but the astronomical distances
restrain us within our solar system. Laser-driven spacecraft is a promising candidate for …
restrain us within our solar system. Laser-driven spacecraft is a promising candidate for …