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High Throughput Analysis of Liquid Droplet Impacts
Published on: March 6, 2020
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Liquid Droplet Microresonators
Antonio Giorgini1, Saverio Avino2, Pietro Malara3
1Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO), via Campi Flegrei 34-Comprensorio A. Olivetti, 80078 Pozzuoli (Na), Italy. antonio.giorgini@ino.it.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 27, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed liquid droplet micro-cavities for sensing and spectroscopy. These droplet resonators offer high optical quality factors and enable label-free detection of compounds in liquids, paving the way for portable opto-fluidic devices.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Fluid Mechanics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Passive optical micro-cavities are crucial for various sensing applications.
- Liquid-phase resonators offer unique advantages over solid-state counterparts.
- Interfacial forces naturally create and suspend droplet resonators.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of passive optical micro-cavities in the liquid phase.
- To demonstrate methods for exciting whispering-gallery modes in liquid droplets.
- To explore the potential of droplet micro-cavities for sensing and opto-mechanics.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing free-space optics to excite whispering-gallery modes in slow-evaporation liquids.
- Employing phase-sensitive detection and multiple interference for laser frequency locking.
- Measuring photon lifetimes to determine optical quality factors.
- Conducting cavity optomechanics experiments with surface acoustic waves.
Main Results:
- Achieved optical quality factors up to 10^7–10^8 in liquid-polymer droplets.
- Demonstrated frequency locking of lasers to droplet resonator modes.
- Showcased droplet resonators acting as both sensor and sample for detecting dissolved compounds and particles.
- Presented initial experiments on cavity optomechanics in nanolitre droplets.
Conclusions:
- Liquid droplet micro-cavities show significant potential for direct spectroscopy and bio-chemical sensing in liquid environments.
- Droplet resonators offer a novel platform for on-tabletop opto-fluid-mechanics studies.
- This technology enables label-free detection and characterization of liquid samples.
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