Abstract
The unique components of PDMS-based microfluidic systems are those combined with liquid crystalline materials. Their functionality, especially when it comes to optical applications, highly depends on the LC molecular arrangement. This work summarizes experimental investigations on the orientation of molecules within LC:PDMS structures according to the manufacturing technologies. The availability of high-quality molds to pattern PDMS is a significant barrier to the creation of advanced microfluidic systems. The possibility of using inexpensive molds in the rapid and reproducible fabrication process has been particularly examined as an alternative to photolithography. Different geometries, including an innovative approach for the electrical control of the molecular arrangement within PDMS microchannels, are presented. These studies are critical for novel optofluidic systems, introducing further research on LC:PDMS waveguiding structures.
Highlights
Microfluidic structures represent an essential part of modern photonic systems
Their varieties include, e.g., microfluidic chips, Lab-on-a-Chips (LOCs), Photonic Lab-on-a-Chips (PhLoCs), and micro-total-analysis-systems (μ-TASs), combining applications and technologies known from chemistry, biology, and photonics [1,2]
Analogical experimental work was performed on the PDMS:PDMS cell with rectangular pillars (Figure 2i) filled with E7 nematic liquid crystal mixture
Summary
Microfluidic structures represent an essential part of modern photonic systems Their varieties include, e.g., microfluidic chips, Lab-on-a-Chips (LOCs), Photonic Lab-on-a-Chips (PhLoCs), and micro-total-analysis-systems (μ-TASs), combining applications and technologies known from chemistry, biology, and photonics [1,2]. Owning to such solutions, space-consuming or expensive devices can be miniaturized, and the performed analyses or tests can be accelerated with significantly reduced costs [3,4,5]. A considerable number of microfluidic structures are fabricated by a cast-molding technique using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Examples of the microfluidic photonic structures obtained in PDMS are optofluidic sensing devices [20], optical MEMS [21], microlenses [22], dye lasers [23], and reconfigurable optical waveguides [24]
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