A review on optical microfibers in fluidic applications

Abstract

Fiber-based opto-fluidics with the distinct benefit of alignment-free optics has been a new rising area by integrating optical fiber and microfluidics in recent years. Optical microfibers with large accessible evanescent field and great configurability have more advantages on the integration with microfluidics than traditional fibers. Based on the strong light-liquid interaction, the fluid has the ability to modulate optical microfiber devices by changing physical and chemical properties such as refractive index, temperature, flow rate, chemicals dissolved in the fluid, etc. The light in the microfiber can also be used to manipulate particles which can move in the fluidic channel. Here we review the broad opto-fluidic applications of optical microfibers such as measurement of liquid characteristics, nonlinear effects, laser generation and optical manipulations with miniaturization, low cost, and high sensitivity. The microfiber-based microfluidic platform may provide more strategies for physical and chemical sensing applications and in particular contactless optical diagnostics.