Dynamic Light Fields Empowering the Microcosmos: Advances in Optoelectronic Tweezers

ABSTRACT Optoelectronic tweezers (OET) is a micro/nano‐manipulation technology based on light‐induced dielectrophoresis, offering noncontact operation, dynamic reconfigurability, low photodamage, and good biocompatibility. Owing to these advantages, OET has emerged as an important manipulation platform in microscale science. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in OET from five perspectives: fundamental mechanisms, device implementation, performance regulation, cross‐scale applications, and intelligent integration. First, the working principles of OET are introduced, together with representative chip architectures, optical implementation strategies, and the application scenarios of existing photoconductive materials. The key factors governing manipulation performance‐including electrical parameters, light‐pattern characteristics, medium properties, and target‐object attributes‐are then analyzed. On this basis, the applications of OET in nanomaterial assembly, microparticle manipulation, single‐cell sorting, information readout, and microenvironment construction are reviewed. Furthermore, integrated and automated systems enabled by the combination of OET with microfluidics, droplet manipulation, and intelligent algorithms are discussed, highlighting their potential for high‐throughput operation and clinical translation. Overall, OET is evolving from a single‐function manipulation tool into a platform technology featuring multi‐module coordination, system‐level integration, and intelligent operation. This review is expected to provide a systematic reference for the mechanistic understanding, device design, application expansion, and system‐level optimization of OET.