US Patent:
20090097808, Apr 16, 2009
Inventors:
Daniel B. Wolfe - Livingston NJ, US
Kateri E. Paul - Everett MA, US
Dmitri V. Vezenov - Center Valley PA, US
Brian T. Mayers - Somerville MA, US
Richard S. Conroy - Cheverly MD, US
Piotr Garstecki - Brwinow, PL
Michael A. Fischbach - Boston MA, US
Valentine I. Vullev - Riverside CA, US
Kam Yan Tang - Cambridge MA, US
Mara G. Prentiss - Belmont MA, US
George M. Whitesides - Newton MA, US
Assignee:
President and Fellows of Harvard College - Cambridge MA
International Classification:
G02B 6/032
Abstract:
The invention relates to methods and apparatuses for guiding and emitting electromagnetic radiation from a fluid waveguide. Various methods for changing optical properties (e.g., refractive index, absorption, and fluorescence) and/or physical properties (e.g., magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, and temperature) of either the waveguide core or the cladding, or both, are provided herein. In one embodiment, electromagnetic radiation is guided and/or emitted at multiple distinct wavelengths, including emission in the form of an essentially continuous band, in some cases covering at least 150 nanometers. In another embodiment, methods for splitting a waveguide core and/or the joining of at least two waveguide cores in a waveguide are provided. In yet another embodiment, the invention includes the use of thermal gradients to generate a waveguide and/or to change the properties of waveguides. Embodiments of the waveguides may be used for optical detection or spectroscopic analysis.