Design and Simulation of an Optical Microsensor for Measuring Pressure in Biological Fluids

Abstract

Aim: To develop an opto-mechanical FEM model for monitoring local pressure in microfluidic devices using a deformable diffraction grating. Material and Methods: A FEM mechanical model is developed using 2D solid elements to calculate the deformation of the gratings on an elastomeric diaphragm subjected to a fluid pressure. The deformed geometry is exported to an optical software for
diffraction analysis. A moulded PDMS chip with a grating consisting of 1m wide, 1 m deep rectangular grooves arrayed with a period of 2m is mechanically simulated for validation. The deformed geometry is obtained after applying an internal pressure. The optical response of the device to a varying pressure is presented and compared with the theoretical prediction.