An Optically Driven Micro-Rotator and Its Application for Micro-Fluidic Systems

Micro-flow control is the key technology in fluidic systems such as Labs-on-a-chip. This paper presents an optical micro-rotator design, fabrication, and evaluation method for stirring a liquid with a remotely rotating micro-mixer driven by optical pressure. The micro-scale flow field around the rotator is visualized and velocity vectors are analyzed.