Optical trapping and manipulation of neutral particles

Abstract

The techniques of optical trapping and ma- nipulation of neutral particles by lasers provide unique means to control the dynamics of small particles. These new exper- imental methods have played a revolutionary role in areas of the physical and biological sciences. This paper reviews the early developments in the field leading to the demonstration of cooling and trapping of neutral atoms in atomic physics and to the first use of optical tweezers traps in biology. Some further major achievements of these rapidly developing meth- ods also are considered.