Manipulation of liquid-liquid interfaces for tunable optics on a chip in microfluidic systems

This thesis describes the design and development of optofluidics: a new class of optical components based on dynamic liquid-liquid interfaces between liquids possessing different optical properties in microfluidic systems. Devices with optical interfaces formed by liquids possess characteristics that are quite different from solid-gas and solid-liquid systems commonly used in conventional optics. Advantages of optofluidic systems include the simplicity to reconfigure optical properties and functions in real time. Examples of devices include liquid waveguides, lenses, and multi-color droplet dye laser. Potential applications include biochemical characterization and optical spectroscopy in micro-total analytical systems.;Chapter 1 describers the motivation, general configuration and characteristics of devices with optical interfaces formed by liquids in microchannels. Chapter 2 describes the soft lithographic techniques used to make optofluidic devices. Chapter 3 describes the use of co-fabrication to design and fabricate multiple functional components in microfluidic systems in a single step. Chapters 4 to 6 describe the design and operation of three optofluidic devices: waveguides, lenses, and dye lasers.