Photophysics and photochemistry of a laser manipulated microparticle

In this article we survey experimental results obtained by the employment o f the technique called "scanning laser micromanipultion". Novel physical an d chemical properties of material of micro- and sub-micrometer dimensions a re elucidated by conducting experiments on an individual laser-tweezed part icle. It is shown that scanning laser micromanipulation can be adopted to t he particles which have a refractive index that is higher than that of the surrounding material, as well as to those which possess lower refractive in dex or are reflective. An implementation of this method of laser manipulati on can be applied for micro-machining, optical switching and electrochemist ry, as demonstrated by a series of examples. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.