Page 282 - Optofluidics Fundamentals, Devices, and Applications

256 Cha pte r T e n

(a)

3 um

(b)

(c)

(d)

FIGURE 10-8 Panel (a) shows an optical micrograph of the DFB laser
fabricated by Li and Psaltis [Z. Li and D. Psaltis, “Optofluidic Distributed
Feedback Dye Lasers,” IEEE J. Top. Quant. Electron. 13(2), 185–193 (2007)].
Panels (b) through (d) show two-dimensional laminar flow profiles calculated
from Stokes’ equation with the aid of a finite-element method. The three
cases are for the same flow-rate and dark regions correspond to a vanishing
flow velocity. (Also see color insert.)

10-8 Summary
Optofluidic dye lasers represent a conceptually simple and flexible
approach for integration of single mode and frequency tunable laser
light sources, which can span the entire range from ultraviolet over
visible to near-infrared. The optofluidic dye laser devices are simply
customized microfluidic components, which can be added to a
lab-on-a-chip microsystem without additional process steps. The
microfluidic platform implies both challenges and opportunities.
Multiple, single-color light sources can easily be integrated on a
chip, where the on-chip generated light is coupled directly into inte-
grated waveguides. Although output power levels are inherently
very low, a wide range of sensing applications can be envisaged,