Abstract
We design, fabricate and experimentally demonstrate a novel generic method to detect flow rates and precise changes of flow velocity in microfluidic devices. Using our method we can measure flow rates of ∼2 mm/s with a resolution of 0.08 mm/s. The operation principle is based on the Doppler shifting of light diffracted from a self-generated periodic array of bubbles within the channel and using self-heterodyne detection to analyze the diffracted light. As such, the device is appealing for variety of “lab on chip” bio-applications where a simple and accurate speed measurement is needed, e.g., for flow-cytometry and cell sorting.
Highlights
Microfluidics has emerged as a key platform for the miniaturization and automation of “lab on a chip” systems
Microfluidic devices are being used in myriad applications, such as chemical analysis and synthesis, sample preparation, mixing, particle sorting, droplet generation, and more [1]
Sensors 2014, 14 of applications may require specific operation conditions of flow rate sensors. Applications, such as high throughput particle counting, require much higher flow rates compared with other applications, such as sample preparation and chemical synthesis
Summary
Microfluidics has emerged as a key platform for the miniaturization and automation of “lab on a chip” systems. Several types of flow rate sensors were demonstrated over the years, primarily based on thermal, mechanical, electrical, and optical concepts of operation [4,5,6,7,8]. In recent years we are witnessing a rapid development in optofluidics, which essentially represents the effort of bringing together microfluidics and photonics, with the goal of constructing miniaturized fluid based photonic devices and systems. This activity has led to the development of various novel devices, such as optofluidic lasers and tunable optical devices and sensors to name a few. We claim that due to the homogeneity and periodicity of the array of bubbles, high signal to noise ratio velocity measurements are achievable, with high precision and accuracy
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