CAREER: Optofluidics - Fusing Microfluidics and Photonics

为了发展一个名为“光流体”的研究领域，PI将对微流体和光学的融合进行理论和实验研究。虽然流体光学装置的想法可以追溯到18世纪的液体反射镜望远镜，但微流体为创造这些早期装置的微尺度类似物提供了独特的机会。一系列的基础研究将开发一种新的微流控传输形式，利用光子器件中的电磁能量来捕获、传输和分离粒子。此外，PI将创建一类新的可重构光子系统的微流体装置，以传输，开关和修改光。这些努力需要数值/分析建模来检查流体力学和电磁学之间的耦合，验证这些模型的实验方面，以及旨在提供实用技术的“概念验证”演示的实施重点。与其他微尺度技术（如电泳、介电电泳和压力）相比，光力输运有几个优点，包括相反的输运标度定律、更高的分离分辨率和对表面/溶液条件的不敏感。通过利用波导传输电磁能量，PI表明可以解决阻碍光传输在微流体器件中广泛采用的基本限制。一个技术发展推力也将追求一个基于波导的分离装置，用于病毒鉴定。这第二个推力将为微流体开发一个很大的新应用领域，并基于微流体流中电磁能量的传输，开发一种新的可重构光子学方法，利用与在芯片上传输化学样品以穿梭光相同的处理技术。PI计划开发一个网络部署的“FluidicsWiki”，围绕微流体和纳米流体的中心主题组织，允许用户编辑内容，因此该网站可以随领域动态发展。总体目标是同步传播最近的研究摘要和教育教程内容，从和到整个社区。计划的一系列学术和社区外展活动包括组织两年一次的光流体会议，为K-12教师举办微流体技术研讨会，并在纽约州博览会上向公众解释纳米技术的好处。

0846489EricksonTo develop a research area called "Optofluidics", the PI will perform both theoretical and experimental investigations into the fusion of microfluidics and optics. While the idea of fluid-optical devices can be traced back as far as the liquid mirror telescopes of the 18th century, microfluidics presents a unique opportunity for creating microscale analogues of these early devices. A series of fundamental studies will develop a new form of microfluidic transport exploiting the electromagnetic energy in photonic devices to capture, transport and separate particles. Additionally, the PI will create a new class of reconfigurable photonic system of microfluidic devices to transport, switch and modify light. These efforts require numerical/analytical modeling examining the coupling between hydrodynamics and electromagnetics, an experimental aspect to verify these models, and an implementation focus aimed at providing a "proof-of-concept" demonstration of a practical technology. Optical force transport has several advantages over other microscale techniques (e.g. electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis, and pressure) including opposite transport scaling laws, significantly higher separation resolutions and insensitivity to surface/solution conditions. By exploiting waveguides to deliver the electromagnetic energy, the PI shows that the fundamental limitation preventing widespread adoption of optical transport in microfluidic devices can be solved. A technology development thrust will also be pursued for a waveguide-based separation device for viral identification. This second thrust will develop a largely new application area for microfluidics and a new approach to reconfigurable photonics based on transport of electromagnetic energy within microfluidic streams, exploiting the same handling techniques developed for transporting chemical samples on-chip to shuttle light around. The PI plans development of a web-deployed "FluidicsWiki" organized around the central theme of micro and nanofluidics to allow user-edited content and thus the site can dynamically evolve with the field. The overall goal is to synchronously disseminate both summaries of recent research and educational tutorial content from and to the entire community. A planned series of academic and community outreach activities include organizing a biennial conference on optofluidics, conducting seminars on microfluidic technology for K-12 teachers, and explaining the benefits of nanotechnology to the public at the New York State Fair.