Heterogeneously integrated optical system for lab-on-a-chip applications

This paper presents a heterogeneously integrated optical system for lab-on-a-chip applications. The system consists of microfluidic devices, optical waveguides, and a thin-film GaAs photodetector (PD) integrated onto a silicon dioxide (SiO2) coated silicon (Si) substrate. Thin-film format of III-V semiconductor based optical devices is used for efficient integration with other functional devices. An integrated thin-film PD with optical waveguides is successfully implemented to measure dynamical movements of micro droplets created in a microfluidic device. The proposed integration method provides an alternative approach to combine various functional devices in a single platform to create fully integrated lab-on-a-chip systems.