Traditionally, Raman spectroscopy is done in a specialized lab, with considerable requirements in terms of equipment, time and manual sampling of substances of interest. We present the modeling, the design and the fabrication process of a microfluidic device incorporation Raman spectroscopy, from which one enables confocal Raman measurements on-chip. The latter is fabricated using ultra precision diamond tooling and is tested in a proof-of-concept setup, by for example measuring Raman spectra of urea solutions with various concentrations. If one wants to analyze single cells instead of a sample solution, precautions need to be taken. Since Raman scattering is a weak process, the molecular fingerprint of flowing particles would be hard to measure. One method is to stably position the cell under test in the detection area during acquisition of the Raman scattering such that the acquisition time can be increased. Positioning of cells can be done through optical trapping and leads to an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and thus a more reliable cell identification. Like Raman spectroscopy, optical trapping can also be miniaturized. We present the modeling, design process and fabrication of a mass-manufacturable polymer microfluidic device for dual fiber optical trapping using two counterpropagating singlemode beams. We use a novel fabrication process that consists of a premilling step and ultraprecision diamond tooling for the manufacturing of the molds and double-sided hot embossing for replication, resulting in a robust microfluidic chip for optical trapping. In a proof-of-concept demonstration, we characterize the trapping capabilities of the hot embossed chip.
Raman spectroscopy is a powerful optical and non-destructive technique and a well-known method for analysis purposes, especially to determine the molecular fingerprint of substances. Traditionally, such analyses are done in a specialized lab, with considerable requirements in terms of equipment, time and manual sampling of substances of interest. In this paper we take a step from bulky Raman spectroscopy laboratory analyses towards lab-on-chip (LOC) analyses. We present an optofluidic lab-on-chip for confocal Raman spectroscopy, which can be used for the analysis of liquids. The confocal detection suppresses the unwanted background from the polymer material out of which the chip is fabricated. We design the free-form optical reflector using non-sequential ray-tracing combined with a mathematical code to simulate the Raman scattering behavior of the substance under test. We prototype the device in Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) by means of ultraprecision diamond tooling. In a proof-of-concept demonstration, we first show the confocal behavior of our Raman lab-on-chip system by measuring the Raman spectrum of ethanol. In a next step, we compare the Raman spectra measured in our lab-on-chip with spectra measured with a commercial Raman spectrometer. Finally, to calibrate the system we perform Raman measurements on urea solutions with different concentrations. We achieve a detection limit that corresponds to a noise equivalent concentration of 20mM. Apart from strongly reducing the background perturbations, our confocal Raman spectroscopy system has other advantages as well. The reflector design is robust from a mechanical point of view and has the potential for mass-manufacturing using hot embossing or injection molding.
We present a microfluidic chip in Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) for optical trapping of particles in an 80μm wide microchannel using two counterpropagating single-mode beams. The trapping fibers are separated from the sample fluid by 70μm thick polymer walls. We calculate the optical forces that act on particles flowing in the microchannel using wave optics in combination with non-sequential ray-tracing and further mathematical processing. We use a novel fabrication process that consists of a premilling step and ultraprecision diamond tooling for the manufacturing of the molds and double-sided hot embossing for replication, resulting in a robust microfluidic chip for optical trapping. In a proof-of-concept demonstration, we show the trapping capabilities of the hot embossed chip by trapping spherical beads with a diameter of 6μm, 8μm and 10μm and use the power spectrum analysis of the trapped particle displacements to characterize the trap strength.
We present a novel model for the prediction of particle trapping, in which different assets are combined to calculate optical forces and torques on free-shaped particles. This model suits well for designing an integrated dual fiber optical trap into a microfluidic chip. The force and torque estimation can easily be integrated in the scheme simulating the surrounding optofluidic chip. The propagation of the trapping laser light going through this micro-optical chip is ensured by the ‘Gaussian Beam Propagation Method’ allowing a realistic propagation of various beam profiles in and near the Rayleigh range. Back-reflected rays into and outside the particle are considered by using a non-sequential ray-tracing model. Our model enables the prediction of circumstances in which particles are trapped and how they behave in the optical trap.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.