Collaborative Research: Monolithic Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits for Biomedical Sensing Applications

该提案描述了一个为期三年的合作研究计划，由多所大学的设备，电子和生物医学研究人员组成，应用和扩展单片光电集成的新兴技术，以解决生物医学研究和诊断的问题和需求。麻省理工学院的研究人员最近展示了前所未有的复杂性和性能的独特单片光电集成电路（OEIC），他们现在能够将光源和检测器与复杂的高密度，高性能电子电路单片集成，为发明和实现各种传感器和测量阵列开辟了道路，用于医学研究和诊断。麻省理工学院正在开发的单片光电集成技术已经足够先进，可以立即应用于解决各种问题，而生物医学研究和实践是一个应用和需求已经成熟的领域，可以用当前的技术来解决。从众多可能的目标在生物医学中的应用，我们已经确定作为一个初始的车辆应用这种技术的一个集成的源/检测器阵列的扩散光学断层扫描（DOT）。建议的装置将允许DOT观测的分辨率超过目前的技术，并将导致使用DOT的程序和情况下，它是目前不可行的。在最一般的条款，建议的努力将是针对开发，应用，并提供一种技术，单片集成III-V光发射器和探测器与商业制造，定制设计的集成电路，以产生为生物医学研究应用和研究定制的可单独寻址的智能激励器/传感器像素的高分辨率二维阵列。代表性像素可以在一侧上测量为250至500微米，并且包含例如二极管光发射器（LED或激光器）、一个或多个光传感器以及大量的电子信号处理电路。这个基本单元是一个构建模块，可以以非常坚固，紧凑的芯片尺寸格式实现各种生物医学光学测量系统。该计划将面临的挑战包括：OEIC技术的持续发展，并使该技术适用于生物医学研究;开发合适的信号处理算法，并在相关电子技术中设计紧凑、高性能的信号处理电路阵列，以与光电器件接口;并适当地封装OEIC芯片用于其生物医学用途。该项目小组将通过与东北大学地下传感和成像系统中心、马萨诸塞州总医院NMR中心、犹他州大学NIH/NCRR生物电场建模、模拟和可视化中心、和麻省理工学院微系统技术实验室，并由Vitesse半导体公司的集成电路处理支持。

This proposal describes a three year collaborative research program by a multi-university team of device, electronics, and biomedical investigators applying and extending newly emerging technologies for monolithic optoelectronic integration to address problems and needs of biomedical research and diagnosis. Researchers at MIT have recently demonstrated unique monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) of unprecedented complexity and performance, and their ability now to monolithically integrate light sources and detectors with complex high density, high performance electronic circuitry opens the way to the invention and realization of a wide variety of sensors and measurement arrays for medical research and diagnostics. It is this area which the proposed effort will address.The technologies for monolithic optoelectronic integration which are under development at MIT are sufficiently advanced that they can be applied immediately to solve a variety of problems, and one area that is ripe with applications and needs that are addressable with the current technology is biomedical research and practice. From the numerous possible target applications in biomedicine, we have identified as an initial vehicle for applying this technology a integrated source/detector array for diffuse optical tomography (DOT). The proposed unit will permit DOT observations with a resolution exceeding that of present techniques and will lead to the use of DOT in procedures and situations in which it is currently unfeasible.Stated in the most general terms, the proposed effort will be directed at developing, applying, and making available a technology to monolithically integrate III-V optical emitters and detectors with commercially fabricated, custom-designed integrated circuits to produce high resolution two-dimensional arrays of individually addressable smart excitor/sensor pixels tailored for biomedical research applications and studies. A representative pixel might measure 250 to 500 microns on a side, and contain, for example, a diode light emitter (LED or laser), one or more light sensors, and a significant amount of electronic signal processing circuitry. This basic unit is a building block from which a wide variety of biomedical optical measurement systems can be realized in a very rugged, compact chip-size format. It promises to lead, in the future, to totally new sensor geometries and measurement procedures.The challenges that the program will face include continuing development of the OEIC technology and adapting this technology for biomedical research; developing suitable signal processing algorithms and designing compact, high performance signal processing circuit arrays in the relevant electronics technologies to interface with the optoelectronic devices; and suitably packaging the OEIC chips for their biomedical utilization.The project team will be aided in this effort by its strong links with the Northeastern University Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems, the Massachusetts General Hospital NMR Center, the University of Utah NIH/NCRR Center for Bioelectric Field Modeling, Simulations and Visualization, and the MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratory, and by integrated circuit processing support from Vitesse Semiconductor Corporation.