US Patent 7444817 Optical micromotor, micropump using same and microvalve using same

An optical micromotor having a rotor the rotation whereof can be controlled flexibly and freely through simple arrangement, and a micropump that uses this micromotor. The optical micromotor and the micropump have a rotor (15) that rotates about a central axis. The rotor (15) has an optical trap (bead) (2), which is trapped by a light beam (4), provided at least at one location thereon. When the optical trap (2) is irradiated with the laser beam (4), the rotor is held at a prescribed position together with the optical trap (2). When the laser beam (4) is moved or changed over, the rotor (15) rotates about the central axis together with the optical trap (2).