Microfluidic refractometer with integrated optical fibers and end-facet transmission gratings

We demonstrated a microfluidic refractometer with an integrated high resolution transmission grating. This grating was fabricated by UV nanoimprinting on the end facet of a multimode optical fiber which was then placed in the plan of the microfluidic device and perpendicular to a microchannel. On the opposite side of the channel, three cleaved optical fibers were added for the light collection of the zeroth and the +/- first diffraction orders. A white light source was used for illumination and the diffraction beams were analyzed with a minispectrometer. The transmission grating was merged in the sample solution of the channel, providing a refractive index-dependent diffraction efficiency. As expected, the diffraction efficiency of the zeroth and the +/- first diffraction orders are different, both being reliable for the refractive index monitoring. Such a white source and multibeam diffraction analysis also allows monitoring the sample absorption or fluorescence, thereby providing a more accurate determination of the sample refraction index.