Photonic crystal fiber as a lab-in-fiber optofluidic platform

Fei Tian, Svetlana Sukhishvili, Henry Du

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ability to design and fabricate photonic crystal fiber (PCF) of seemingly unlimited, axially aligned air cladding structures for vastly different optical properties is arguably one of the most significant recent advances in more than half a century of modern fiber optics. The combined characteristics of PCF as both a waveguide for laser transmission/excitation and a microfluidic cell for gas/liquid transport/reactions make it a unique lab-in-fiber platform for chemical and biological processes and their real-time monitoring. The easy access of the fiber air channels for surface functionalization at the molecular and nano scales and the ready incorporation of long-period gratings (LPG) as an integral part of the PCF-based lab-in-fiber platform further expand the realm of its applications. The aim of this chapter is to review the state-of-the-art advances in the science and technology of PCF lab-in-fiber optofluidics relevant to technologically important chemical and biological events and their measurements. The chapter will begin with a brief introduction of the fundamentals, fabrication, optical properties, and general areas of applications of PCF. PCF as a natural lab-in-fiber optofluidics will be highlighted and contrasted with lab-on-chip optofluidics derived from planar silicon device technology. We will then discuss the chemical or biological surface treatment of PCF air channels to impart specific functionality for molecular recognition, the immobilization of plasmonic nanostructures at the channel surface for surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the in situ laser spectroscopy measurements. Considerable focus will be placed on the design, development, and implementation of highly index-sensitive PCF-LPG lab-in-fiber optofluidics for in situ investigation of immunoassays as label-free bioreactors and biosensors as well as for real-time monitoring of layer-by-layer assembly of stimuli-responsive polyelectrolyte thin films as nano-sensors and nano-actuators. We will conclude the chapter by sharing our views on future opportunities and challenges in the exciting field of PCF lab-in-fiber optofluidics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)315-334
Number of pages20
JournalSpringer Series in Surface Sciences
Volume56
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015

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