title: Laser-tweezer-controlled solid immersion microscopy in microfluidic systems.
abstract: We describe the creation and implementation of a near-field scanning solid immersion microscope that is specifically tailored for use in microfluidic systems. The microscope comprises a newly fabricated Weierstrass solid immersion lens (SIL), which is detached from its substrate and is free floating in the fluid, and a laser optical tweezer, which serves both as a trapping beam for alignment and positioning of the SIL and as a near-field scanning beam that images the sample through the SIL. A discussion of the SIL's fabrication method is presented along with experimental results that demonstrate the effectiveness of our microscope design.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. alb@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Aaron L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Birkbeck
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zlatanovic
authors.forename: Sadik C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Esener
authors.forename: Mihrimah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozkan
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007834:Lasers; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical