Deformable Microdroplet Cavity Fabricated by an Inkjet Method

A droplet-elastomer compound was fabricated by using an inkjet technique. Being emitted by a nozzle, a dye-doped surfactant self-formed a microsphere in a polysiloxane elastomer. Rapid vaporization during the droplet flight process was utilized advantageously to form a small sphere. The droplet volume was controlled between 1 and 10(3) pl, corresponding to a diameter range of 10-120 mu m. When the droplet was excited by a 532 nm laser pulse, resonance peaks of whispering gallery modes appeared in the fluorescence spectrum. The peak wavelength was controlled by pressing the elastomer or deforming the droplet. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics