Manufacturing by laser direct-write of three-dimensional devices containing optical and microfluidic networks

The index of refraction of most glasses can be permanently changed by exposure to femtosecond laser pulses. This effect allows for the fabrication of various two-dimensional or three-dimensional light guiding structures. Passive and active optical devices have been demonstrated using this femtosecond direct-write technique. A closely related technique to manufacture three-dimensional microfluidic networks has recently been demonstrated. We describe recent femtosecond direct-write work at Translume and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute that combine these two techniques to produce devices that incorporate on a single glass chip optical network with microfluidic network.