The review deals with a promising area in laser optics - optical microparticle manipulation. The object under manipulation can be of various nature: from a colloid particle to a molecule, from cell, virus, to a micromechanism part, etc. The capture of micro-objects into a laser trap becomes possible due to light pressure, but a detailed description of the interaction between light and a micro-object is only possible within quantum or classical electrodynamics. In the first part of this work a concise review of the articles on optical manipulation of microparticles and atoms published in the last two decades is presented. The second part is devoted to the production of laser beams with self-reproduction properties. Such beams can be most effectively produced using diffractive optical elements (DOEs). The DOE-generated self-reproducing laser beams (stable, axially periodic, rotating, and multiorder) offer new opportunities in optical manipulation of micro- and nano-objects.

PDF (1.05 Mb)