Miniaturized VCSEL modules for optical manipulation of microparticles

Abstract

In recent years, optical manipulation has been emerging as a powerful technique in a wide range of applications, especially in the field of biological sciences. It is a mechanism to handle micrometer sized particles without mechanical or thermal damage or contamination. Lately, the use of VCSELs (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers) as light sources in optical manipulation has got significant attention because of their various advantages compared to conventional lasers. Particularly, their small dimensions with typical active diameters of less than ten micrometers, the possibility of simple and inexpensive formation of two-dimensional VCSEL arrays and their integration capability have made them convenient for optical manipulation applications. Another field of interest in biological research is microfluidics, which studies the manipulation and analysis of fluids in microscale. In this paper, we combine these three basic elements -VCSELs, optical manipulation, and microfluidicsto form VCSEL-based miniaturized optical trap array modules. In our previous work, the fabrication of VCSEL arrays and their characterization results were presented. In this paper, the integration of the VCSEL arrays into the module will be presented. Optical deflection experiments with microparticles will also be shown.