Optically driven method for magnetically levitating a diamagnetic material using the photothermal effect

Optically driven actuators do not require contact and thus can be used to generate movement remotely. In this paper, we propose a new method for optically driving a magnetic levitation system that consists of a diamagnetic material as the moving object, a neodymium magnet, and a temperature-sensitive ferrite for varying the potential energy of the diamagnetic object. The diamagnetic object is levitated by the magnetic force between it and the neodymium magnet. Laser irradiation of the temperature-sensitive ferrite reduces its magnetic susceptibility due to the photothermal effect. In this study, the conditions for levitation are derived using a numerical approach. The results reveal that movement can be controlled in a three-dimensional region.