Photo-thermal micropump based on capillary optical fiber

Abstract

The invention provides a photo-thermal micropump based on a capillary optical fiber. The photo-thermal micropump is characterized by comprising a section of annular core capillary optical fiber subjected to micromachining treatment and a light source. An annular optical fiber core is heated, melted and shrunk to become thin until capillary pores of the optical fiber are sealed, a solid light wavechannel is formed, and therefore an optical interface connected with the external light source is formed. The other end, not machined, of the annular optical fiber core is an open channel opening, andthe open channel opening serves as an outlet of the micropump and also serves as an inlet of chip microfluid. The femtosecond punching machining technology is adopted for the part, close to the melted and shrunk end, of the capillary optical fiber, a microfluid liquid inlet is manufactured and can correspond to an external chip sample inlet in position, and a liquid outlet in the other end of thecapillary optical fiber core can be connected with a microfluid channel in a microfluidic chip needing to be used. The capillary optical fiber photo-thermal micropump capable of being used for the microfluidic chip is easy to manufacture, good in consistency, capable of facilitating chip connection and convenient and fast to connect with the light source and suitable for large-scale mass production.

Description

[0001] (1) Technical field [0002] The invention relates to a photothermal micropump based on a capillary optical fiber, which is convenient to connect with a microfluidic chip, and can also replace large-scale sampling equipment such as a microinjection pump and a microfluidic peristaltic pump in micron-scale operation of microfluidics. The control chip provides a convenient method for high-throughput analysis and detection peripheral control equipment in the fields of chemistry, biology, medicine, etc., and belongs to the field of optofluidic technology. [0003] (2) Background technology [0004] Microfluidics (Microfluidics or Lab-on-a-chip) refers to a system that uses microchannels of tens of microns or hundreds of microns to process or manipulate tiny fluids. After decades of development, microfluidic technology has become an emerging interdisciplinary subject involving chemistry, fluid physics, optics, microelectronics, new materials, biology and biomedical engineering...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Mechanical micropumps mainly have piezoelectric, electrostatic, electromagnetic, pneumatic and other drive methods. Such micropumps usually have complex manufacturing processes, high cost, high power consumption, poor reliability for long-term work, and are difficult to integrate

Non-mechanical micropumps mainly include electroosmotic, surface tension, magnetic fluid, and thermal bubble drive methods. This type of micropump has certain advantages in terms of manufacturing process and reliability, and there will be no long-term working conditions of mechanical micropumps. However, this type of micropump requires complex drive circuits or devices. These additional components often increase the complexity of the system and reduce the portability of the system, thus limiting the application of microfluidic systems.

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