In-plane spectroscopy with optical fibers and liquid-filled APEX™ glass microcuvettes

Chemical etching and laser drilling of microstructural glass results in opaque or translucent sidewalls, limiting the optical analysis of glass microfluidic devices to top down or non-planar topologies. These non-planar observation topologies prevent each layer of a multilayered device from being independently optically addressed. However, novel photosensitive glass processing techniques in APEX™ have resulted in microfabricated glass structures with transparent sidewalls. Toward the goal of a transparent multilayered glass microfluidic device, this study demonstrates the ability to perform spectroscopy with optical fibers and microcuvettes fabricated in photosensitive APEX™ glass.