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Fluorescence detection methods for microfluidic droplet platforms
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Continuously tunable microdroplet-laser in a microfluidic channel.

Sindy K Y Tang1, Ratmir Derda, Qimin Quan

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.

Optics Express
|March 4, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Researchers created tunable dye-doped microcavities using microfluidics. Droplet size reduction tuned optical emission wavelengths over a broad range, exceeding previous studies.

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Area of Science:

  • Optics and Photonics
  • Microfluidics
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Droplet-based microcavities offer tunable optical properties.
  • Whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in microcavities are sensitive to size and refractive index.
  • Controlling microcavity size is crucial for wavelength tunability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To generate and optically characterize dye-doped droplet microcavities with continuously decreasing radii.
  • To demonstrate a broad range of wavelength tunability in these microcavities.
  • To compare the achieved tunability with previous droplet-based cavity studies.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a flow-focusing nozzle in a microfluidic channel to generate benzyl alcohol droplets (~21 μm radius) in water.
  • Observed in-situ dissolution of droplets, leading to a continuous decrease in their radius.
  • Measured emission spectra and matched them to whispering gallery modes of spherical microcavities.

Main Results:

  • Successfully generated dye-doped droplet microcavities with decreasing radii from 21 μm to 7 μm.
  • Observed a significant shift in emission wavelengths from 700 nm to 620 nm as droplet radius decreased.
  • Achieved a larger range of wavelength tunability compared to previously reported droplet-based cavities.

Conclusions:

  • Demonstrated a novel method for creating tunable optical microcavities using microfluidic droplet dissolution.
  • The observed wavelength shift is directly correlated with the controlled reduction in microcavity radius.
  • This technique provides a promising platform for developing tunable photonic devices.