Dr. Riccardo Zamboni Profile

Dr. Riccardo Zamboni

at Univ Münster

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Publications (3)

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Proceedings Article | 24 May 2022 Paper

Light actuated merging of confined microfluidic droplets by virtual photovoltaic electrodes

R. Zamboni, J. Imbrock, C. Denz

Proceedings Volume 12151, 121510D (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2624579

KEYWORDS: Microfluidics, Electrodes, Crystals, Photovoltaics, Liquids, Lithium niobate

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The integration of photosensitively functionalized materials into integrated microfluidic systems allows controlling small amounts of fluids by light. One of the most promising application is the use of optoelectronic substrates that lead to the optical induction of electric fields that in turn allow manipulating microfluidic droplets. In particular, photovoltaic crystals have attractive capabilities in the spatial control of liquid droplets by means of optically-induced space charge distributions. The distribution of these electric carriers acts as virtual electrode creating strong electric fields, which have been effectively demonstrated as a versatile tool for trapping and moving small droplets. Up to several kV mm-1 electric fields can be achieved by the photovoltaic effect, for instance exploiting iron-doped lithium niobate crystals (Fe:LN). Despite promising results, this crystal has never been directly integrated in lab-on-a-chip system for active manipulation of aqueous droplets which are essential for microfluidics applications. Indeed, the development of light-based manipulation of electric fields enable a large number of operational functions within lab-on-a-chip protocols, for instance to merge on-demand droplet pairs. Herein, we propose the integration of Fe:LN inside a microfluidic droplet device in order to realize light-actuated merging of microfluidic confined aqueous droplets. The working principle is based on electro-coalescence of droplet pairs due to the presence of light-induced electric fields. Droplets are generated within a T-junction integrated circuit, and are further merged on-demand by optically-induced virtual electrodes. The droplets’ behavior is analyzed in this novel light functionalized chip compared to standard materials devices. We show that the dynamics of the droplets follow the same scaling laws and demonstrate unique light-induced merging by virtual electrodes on Fe:LN.

Proceedings Article | 1 August 2021 Presentation + Paper

Manipulating aqueous droplets by light-induced virtual electrodes

Riccardo Zamboni, Jörg Imbrock, Cornelia Denz

Proceedings Volume 11798, 1179824 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2594165

KEYWORDS: Electrodes, Dielectrophoresis, Microfluidics, Crystals, Photovoltaics, Spatial light modulators, Control systems, Lab on a chip, Lithium niobate, Structured light

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The precise spatio-temporal manipulation of droplets is fundamental for many lab-on-a-chip systems with applications in biology, healthcare and chemistry. Different approaches have been investigated, including thermal, chemical and electrical methodologies. Among this latter, electrophoresis (EP) and dielectrophoresis (DEP) play a key role, since they are highly compatible with microfluidic systems and provide sufficiently strong forces to control up to microliter volume aqueous droplets. However, EP and DEP techniques typically require the presence of metallic electrodes to create the desired electric fields, making these approaches less flexible and efficient than those exploiting pure optical techniques. Iron-doped lithium niobate (LiNbO₃:Fe) allows for the generation of strong electric field modulation due to an inhomogenous illumination, thanks to its photovoltaic properties. These photoinduced fields interact as EP and DEP forces with microdroplets, while guaranteeing the flexibility provided by optical field-based modulation. Indeed, the combination with well-known techniques to control and modulate light fields can be exploited to generate virtual electrodes on the material, achieving reliable as well as flexible devices for water droplets control. In our approach, the photoinduced fields generated by the complex illumination of LiNbO₃:Fe are exploited to control motion and trajectory of water droplets inside microfluidic channel. Moreover, the crystal is integrated in standard droplet microfluidic polymeric device, substituting the usual glass substrate and, thus without hindering the portability. This feature combined with the control of positions of aqueous droplets represents a key tool for several applications of customized lab-on-a-chip systems, highlighting the capabilities of LinbO₃:Fe-based virtual electrodes.

Proceedings Article | 5 May 2015 Paper

Integrated optics on Lithium Niobate for sensing applications

Annamaria Zaltron, Giacomo Bettella, Gianluca Pozza, R. Zamboni, M. Ciampolillo, N. Argiolas, C. Sada, Sebastian Kroesen, Michael Esseling, Cornelia Denz

Proceedings Volume 9506, 950608 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2178457

KEYWORDS: Microfluidics, Lithium niobate, Waveguides, Titanium, Crystals, Calcium, Capillaries, Channel waveguides, Liquids, Refractive index

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In micro-analytical chemistry and biology applications, optofluidic technology holds great promise for creating efficient lab-on-chip systems where higher levels of integration of different stages on the same platform is constantly addressed. Therefore, in this work the possibility of integrating opto-microfluidic functionalities in lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) crystals is presented. In particular, a T-junction droplet generator is directly engraved in a LiNbO₃ substrate by means of laser ablation process and optical waveguides are realized in the same material by exploiting the Titanium in-diffusion approach. The coupling of these two stages as well as the realization of holographic gratings in the same substrate will allow creating new compact optical sensor prototypes, where the optical properties of the droplets constituents can be monitored.

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