Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices are changing the way that in vitro diagnostics and drug development are conducted, based on the increased precision, miniaturization and efficiency of these systems relative to prior...
AbstractAdaptive optics are becoming a valuable tool for laser processing, providing enhanced functionality and flexibility for a range of systems. Using a single adaptive element, it is possible to correct for aberrations introduced when focusing inside the workpiece, tailor the focal intensity distribution for the particular fabrication task and/or provide parallelisation to reduce processing times. This is particularly promising for applications using ultrafast lasers for three-dimensional fabrication. We review recent developments in adaptive laser processing, including methods and applications, before discussing prospects for the future.
The drive toward miniature photonic devices has been hindered by our inability to tightly control and manipulate light. Moreover, photonics technologies are typically not based on silicon and, until recently, only indirectly benefited from the rapid advances being made in silicon processing technology. In the first part of this article, the successful fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals using silicon processing will be discussed. This advance has been made possible through the use of integrated-circuit (IC) fabrication technologies (e.g., very largescale integration, VLSI) and may enable the penetration of Si processing into photonics. In the second part, we describe the creation of 2D photonic-crystal slabs operating at the λ = 1.55 μm communications wavelength. This class of 2D photonic crystals is particularly promising for planar on-chip guiding, trapping, and switching of light.
ABSTRACTWe demonstrate the fabrication of a three-dimensional woodpile photonic crystal in the near-infrared regime using a layer-by-layer approach involving electron-beam lithography and spin-on-glass planarization. Using this approach we have shown that we can make structures with lattice spacings as small as 550 nm with silicon as well as gold thus allowing for fabrication of photonic crystals with omnidirectional gap in the visible and near-IR. As a proof of concept we performed optical reflectivity and transmission measurements on a silicon structure which reveal peaks and valleys expected for a photonic band gap structure. The approach described here can be scaled down to smaller lattice constants (down to ∼400 nm) and can also be used with a variety of materials (dielectric and metallic) thus enabling rapid prototyping full three-dimensional photonic bandgap based photonic devices in the visible.
We demonstrate that the integration of complex human synovial organ cultures in a lab-on-a-chip provides reproducible and reliable information on how systemic stress factors affect synovial tissue architectures using light scatter biosensing.
Adaptive optics in laser processing