Abstract: Arrays of extended crystalline and non-crystalline structures are created using light beams coupled to microscopic polarizable matter. Polarizable matter adopts the pattern of an applied, patterned light intensity distribution. Further, polarizable matter itself scatters applied light, resulting in production of a stable, bound configuration of that matter. Alternatively, polarizable matter can simultaneously adopt the pattern of an applied patterned light intensity while the incident light scattered by the matter itself acts further to organize the matter. Dielectric, semiconductor, metal, molecular, atomic and biological matter can be organized using light to fabricate numerous devices including mechanical and optical filters, self-organizing Bragg lasers, templates for epitaxy, photonic semiconductors, optical components including holograms and diffractive optical elements as well as two dimensional membranes of living biological cells.