The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics: optical tweezers and chirped pulse amplification

摘要

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Arthur Ashkin (prize share 1/2), Gerard Mourou (prize share 1/4), and Donna Strickland (prize share 1/4) for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics. This feature article summarizes the development of optical tweezers and their application to biological systems by Arthur Ashkin, as well as the Mourou/Strickland method of generating high-intensity, ultrashort optical pulses known as chirped pulse amplification. Further developments are also briefly discussed.