  A novel method of ground state laser cooling of trapped atoms utilizes the
absorption profile of a three (or multi-) level system which is tailored by a
quantum interference. With cooling rates comparable to conventional sideband
cooling, lower final temperatures may be achieved. The method was
experimentally implemented to cool a single Ca$^+$ ion to its vibrational
ground state. Since a broad band of vibrational frequencies can be cooled
simultaneously, the technique will be particularly useful for the cooling of
larger ion strings, thereby being of great practical importance for
initializing a quantum register based on trapped ions. We also discuss its
application to different level schemes and for ground state cooling of neutral
atoms trapped by a far detuned standing wave laser field.
