Collaborative Research: Monolithic Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits for Biomedical Sensing Applications

这份提案描述了一个由设备、电子学和生物医学研究人员组成的多所大学团队的为期三年的合作研究计划，该计划应用和扩展了单片光电集成的新技术，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独特的单片光电子集成电路(OEIC)，具有前所未有的复杂性和性能，它们现在能够将光源和探测器与复杂的高密度、高性能电子电路单片集成，从而为发明和实现用于医学研究和诊断的各种传感器和测量阵列开辟了道路。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，其中一个成熟的应用领域和需求可以用当前技术来解决，那就是生物医学研究和实践。从生物医学中众多可能的目标应用中，我们已经确定了一种用于漫反射光学层析成像(DOT)的集成源/探测器阵列，作为应用这项技术的初始载体。拟议的单元将允许以超过现有技术的分辨率进行DOT观测，并将导致在程序和目前不可行的情况下使用DOT。概括地说，拟议的努力将致力于开发、应用和提供一种技术，将III-V光学发射器和探测器与商业制造的定制设计的集成电路单片集成，以产生高分辨率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，用于生物医学研究应用和研究。一个代表性的像素可以在一侧测量250到500微米，并且例如包含二极管发光器(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。该基本单元是一个构建块，可用于以非常坚固、紧凑的芯片大小格式实现各种生物医学光学测量系统。它有望在未来引领全新的传感器几何结构和测量程序。该计划将面临的挑战包括继续开发OEIC技术并将该技术应用于生物医学研究；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子器件接口；项目团队将通过与东北大学地下传感和成像系统中心、马萨诸塞州总医院核磁共振中心、犹他大学NIH/NCRR生物电场建模、模拟和可视化中心以及麻省理工学院微系统技术实验室的强大联系以及Vitesse半导体公司的集成电路处理支持来帮助完成这项工作。

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.