CAREER: Optofluidics - Fusing Microfluidics and Photonics

0846489 Erickson为了发展一个名为“Optofluidics”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。虽然流体光学设备的想法可以追溯到18世纪世纪的液体反射镜望远镜，但微流体技术为创建这些早期设备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体传输形式，利用光子器件中的电磁能来捕获、传输和分离粒子。此外，PI将创建一种新的微流体设备的可重构光子系统，以传输，切换和修改光。这些努力需要数值/分析建模检查流体力学和电磁学之间的耦合，实验方面，以验证这些模型，并实施重点，旨在提供一个“概念验证”演示的实用技术。 光学力传输具有优于其他微尺度技术（例如电泳、介电电泳和压力）的几个优点，包括相反的传输比例定律、显著更高的分离分辨率和对表面/溶液条件的不敏感性。通过利用波导来传递电磁能量，PI表明可以解决阻止在微流体设备中广泛采用光学传输的基本限制。此外，还将致力于开发一种用于病毒识别的波导分离装置。这第二个推力将为微流体开发一个新的应用领域，并开发一种基于微流体流内电磁能传输的可重构光子学新方法，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，从而使网站可以随着该领域的动态发展而发展。总体目标是同步传播最近的研究和教育教程内容的摘要，并从整个社区。计划中的一系列学术和社区外展活动包括组织两年一度的光流体学会议，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.