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OPTOFLUIDICS

Merging metasurfaces with microfluidics

Nature Nanotechnology volume 17, pages 1042–1043 (2022)Cite this article

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By using microfluidics to control the refractive index of the fluid surrounding dielectric metasurfaces, the optical response and functionality of metasurface devices can be tuned on-demand to enable comprehensive control of the flow of light.

Optofluidics1, that is, the fusion of optics and microfluidics, has generated significant attention in the past two decades. Optofluidics leverages the simplicity of microfluidics to control fluid at small length scales in miniaturized lab-on-a-chip systems and tune the response of optical components. It is known that optical responses depend on both the optical properties of the constituent materials and that of the local environment. Thus, harnessing fluidic replacement, enabled by microfluidics to modify the refractive index of the medium surrounding the optical elements, provides a simple means to dynamically control optical responses on demand.

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Fig. 1: Dynamic optical metasurface platform using microfluidics.

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  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Justus C. Ndukaife

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  1. Justus C. Ndukaife
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Correspondence to Justus C. Ndukaife.

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Ndukaife, J.C. Merging metasurfaces with microfluidics. Nat. Nanotechnol. 17, 1042–1043 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01203-3

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