Rapidly adapting mechanoreceptor-inspired transducer with all-optofluidic realization of self-digitization and pulse code modulation

We present a new mass-flow transducer generating pulse format outputs that are all-optofluidically encoded with information on the strength and origin of the stimulation. The transducer can also be configured to respond only transitional stimuli. These features closely mimic the rate coding, action potential labeling, and rapid adaptation of biological mechanoreceptors. Through transducer-level realization of these features, we could enable sharing of a single channel between multiple transducers and mitigate concerns on the channel noise. Experimentally, the pulse-to-pulse interval of the transducer's optical pulse train became 1.7 times shorter in response to a 2.2-fold increase in the mass-flow rate.