Abstract

Optofluidics emerged in the early 2000s as a division of optics, where microfluidics and photonics are fused to enable novel means for optical information processing and lab-on-a-chip applications. Surfaces, identified as the interfaces between solids and liquids, have also attracted substantial attention in the past few decades within the field of biomolecular assays, such as micro-arrays and single molecule interrogation with evanescent fields. Such surfaces can exhibit a distinct chemical or mechanical character at the molecular, nanometer or micrometer scales (Fig. 1). In this talk, we will discuss how these different types of surfaces can either determine or enhance the functionality of optofluidic devices.

© 2010 Optical Society of America