The potential for an all-optically assembled, powered and controlled micro-fluidic lab-on-a-chip system

In this work we will give an overview demonstrating the flexibility of a multiple beam trapping system that enables interactive manipulation of fluid borne colloidal structures with advanced controllability and versatility. Multiple beam trapping patterns are obtained from a direct map of the phase or polarization variations encoded on a programmable phase only spatial light modulator. A graphical user interface that encodes desired patterns onto the SLM enables interactive and independent control over the dynamics and geometry of each trapping beam. Experimental results show that the system can be used for guided assembly of particles in a plane, control of particle stacking along a beam axis, and real-time sorting of inhomogeneous mixtures of microspheres. These experiments illustrate that multiple beams generated by the system can be utilized not only for the improved synthesis of functional microstructures but also for their non-contact and parallel actuation crucial for sophisticated microfluidic-based lab-on-a-chip demonstrations in the future.