Automatic system for micro optofluidic research

Abstract

Micro optofluidics combines microoptics with microfluidics to realize new functionalities and applications. Applications of this emerging field are new detection schemes for lab-on-a-chip platforms. With the help of the small equipments purchased in this supplementary equipment project, various aspects of optofluidic were studied. An optofluidic switch that is capable of performing switching up to 1.67 Hz was developed. The various conditions that are necessary to switch the core flow were investigated. The project then moved on to characterize the wave guiding capability of a liquid claddingliquid core-liquid cladding system. The amount of light guided increases with larger core width and then saturates at high core flow rate. Based on the results of the above investigation, a novel core width sensor has been developed. The core width varies linearly with the light output intensity. As such the core width can be estimated by measuring the light output emitted from the core flow. Finally, the last phase of the project work on the dynamic manipulation of signal output by varying the core flow rate. Since the intensity of dye laser output with different core flow rate was characterized, it was possible to output desired voltage by executing the corresponding core flow rate. The ability of the system to output a sine wave, ramp and square wave were also examined and found to be able to trace the desired output with a certain amount of errors. However this serves as the first cut approximation for dynamic output manipulation.