All-Fiber Optofluidic Component to Combine Light and Fluid

A component is presented that combines light and fluid in an optical fiber arrangement for optofluidics. The component couples light from a standard telecom fiber (STF) to the solid-core of a microstructured fiber, and delivers fluid from a capillary to the holes of the same microstructured fiber. The light is then made to interact longitudinally with the delivered fluid in a hollow-core fiber or capillary. The component is all-spliced, hermetic and allows for fluid flow without interrupting the optical beam. Light is brought from the STF to the solid-core/fluid interface with a loss <;0.1 dB.