Microfluidic droplet grating for reconfigurable optical diffraction

Opt Lett. 2010 Jun 1;35(11):1890-2. doi: 10.1364/OL.35.001890.

Abstract

This Letter presents a reconfigurable optical diffraction grating using multiphase droplets on a microfluidic chip. The uniform and evenly spaced circular droplets are generated by continuously dispersing two immiscible liquids into a T junction to produce plugs, which are then transformed into a circular shape at a sudden expansion of the microchannel. In experiments, the droplet grating shows a detection limit of ~6.3x10(-5) when used as an opto fl uidic refractometer and produces different colors as a color filter. Such a grating has the advantages of high stability and wide tunability in droplet size, grating period, and refractive index, making it promising for biochemical and biomaterial applications.

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Lenses*
  • Microfluidics / instrumentation*
  • Refractometry / instrumentation*
  • Solutions / chemistry*

Substances

  • Solutions