title: Sub-micrometer precision of optical imaging to locate the free surface of a micrometer fluid shape.
abstract: In this note, we explore the precision of the optical imaging method for measuring the free surface position of a micrometer fluid shape. For this purpose, images of a liquid film deposited on a rod were acquired and processed. The resulting contour was compared with the corresponding solution to the Young-Laplace equation. The average deviation was about 30nm, 25 times smaller than the pixel size, reflecting the validity of optical imaging for most applications in microfluidics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical, Energetic and Material Engineering, University of Extremadura, Avda. De Elvas s/n, E-06071 Badajoz, Spain. jmm@unex.es
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Montanero
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrera