Fig. 4: Ubiquity of force-sensitive self-oscillation.

a Schematic of planar-aligned LCN with the off-axis angle (φ) defined as the angle between the cutting direction and molecular director n. b Photos of \(\varphi ={0}^{{{\rm{o}}}}\), corresponding to director along the long axis of the planar-aligned LCN strip, bending toward the light source at 117 mW cm⁻² intensity. c Time-evolving oscillation of \(\varphi ={45}^{{{\rm{o}}}}\), planar LCN under a 2.4 g load. Irradiation conditions: 532 nm, 500 mW cm⁻². d Schematic of splay-aligned LCN. e Photos of \(\varphi ={0}^{{{\rm{o}}}}\), splay LCN strip bending away from the light source at 117 mW cm⁻² intensity. f Time-evolving oscillation of \(\varphi ={45}^{{{\rm{o}}}}\), splay LCN under a 2.4 g load. Irradiation conditions: 532 nm, 233 mW cm⁻². g Schematic of twist-aligned LCN. h Photos of \(\varphi ={0}^{{{\rm{o}}}}\), twist LCN forming a spiral at 117 mW cm⁻² intensity. i Time-evolving oscillation of \(\varphi ={45}^{{{\rm{o}}}}\), twist LCN under a 2.4 g load. Irradiation conditions: 532 nm, 550 mW cm⁻². j Summary of load effects on oscillation frequency and (k) summary of off-axis angle’s effect on oscillation frequency across all deformation modes. The error bars in (j), (k) are displayed as mean values +/− standard deviation (n   =   3). The same sample was measured repeatedly. All scale bars: 2 mm.