SBIR Phase II: Micromachined Planar Single Pixel Photomultiplier Tube (PMT)

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的重点是生产一种微型光电倍增管，用于检测在光纤网络上传播的光信号，并用于芯片实验室和DNA测序系统中的化学传感的机载高速光学检测。集成光学数字和模拟数据传输和模拟传感器可以受益于高速微型光电检测器（1ghz）。固态探测器具有非常高的带宽或高增益，但不能同时具有两者。一个高（1000）的探测器以低功率、高速度和大动态范围工作，并且可以集成到硅电路上，特别是作为光纤接收器和传感器，将具有价值。我们提出了一种采用dynode二次电子发射增益的微机械真空光电倍增管——平面微机械光电倍增管（PMPMT）。这种器件将制造出一种优越的芯片级可集成高增益光纤（FO）接收器，能够大幅降低千兆/秒激光二极管FO发射器的功率性能要求，这是超高速广域网的成本障碍。这种装置还将使化学、生物化学和医学诊断成为真正的现场便携式测试设备。如果这个项目取得成功，它将为电信网络带来一种革命性的新型光纤传感器。其他商业应用还存在于生物医学和化学分析芯片实验室中，其中高速光学探测器可以彻底改变DNA筛选或化学或毒素鉴定等快速分析。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project focuses on producing a miniature photomultiplier for detection of light signals traveling on fiber-optic networks and for use as on-board high speed optical detection for chemical sensing in lab-on-a-chip and DNA sequencing systems. Integrated optics for digital and analog data transmission and analog sensors can benefit from the high-speed miniature photodectors (1 GHz). Solid state detectors are available with very high bandwidth or high gain, but not both simultaneously. A high (1,000) detector operated at low power with high speed and large dynamic range, and that could be integrated onto a silicon circuit would have value, especially as a fiber-optic receiver and sensor. We propose a micromachined vacuum photomultiplier employing dynode secondary electron emission gain, a Planar Micromachined PhotoMultiplier Tube (PMPMT). Such a device would make a superior chip-scale integrable high gain fiber-optic (FO) receiver, capable of substantially lowering the power performance requirements of gigabit/s laser diode FO transmitters, the cost-barrier to ultra-high speed WAN networks. Such a device would also enable truly field portable test equipment for chemical, biochemical and medical diagnostics. If this project is successful it could usher in a revolutionary new fiber optic sensor for telecommunciations networks. Additional commercial applications exist in biomedical and chemical analysis labs-on-a-chip where a high speed optical detector can revolutionize rapid analyses such as DNA screening or chemical or toxin identification.