IC-based electron spin detection for biomedical and material science applications

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Methods based on the electron spin resonance (ESR) effect are amongst the most powerful analytical techniques in medicine as well as in the natural and material sciences because they enable to study the structure, dynamics and spatial distribution of paramagnetic species in a large variety of samples.In this context, the main goal of the proposed project is to improve and/or to enhance the functionality of existing ESR-instruments for two specific applications from the fields of life science and material science by efficiently using the capabilities of modern integrated circuit (IC) technologies for the manufacturing of miniaturized, highly sensitive detectors for inductive and electrical measurements of the ESR effect.The first main subproject aims at developing a user-friendly, portable and yet highly sensitive Ku-band point-of-care (PoC) ESR spectrometer for the ESR based analysis of oxidative and nitrosative stress in whole blood samples using the spin trapping method. In cooperation with end-users from the medical school and the psychology department in Ulm, we will develop an ESR spectrometer, which will make ESR spectroscopy as the gold standard for the assessment of oxidative and nitrosative stress accessible to a large community of clinical end-users by featuring both a high user-friendliness and an excellent spin sensitivity. The PoC spectrometer will be centered on a chip-integrated oscillator based, inductive ESR detector, which is ideally suited for the intended PoC realization because its innovative measuring principle allows for both the excitation and the detection of the spin ensemble with a very small power budget. Since, in addition, we will use a 0.5 T NMR permanent magnet to produce the required static B0 field, we will be able to create a miniaturized, portable, and even battery operated spectrometer for the daily use in clinical applications.The second subproject will deal with the development of integrated circuits for combined ESR-EDMR experiments. Here, for the inductive ESR detection, we will use the same oscillator based measurement principle as for the PoC spectrometer. However, the oscillator of the inductive ESR sensor will at the same time serve as the microwave source for the electrical detection of the ESR effect using EDMR. To both enhance the sensor sensitivity and render it more robust against external interferences, we will co-integrate the transimpedance amplifier required for the EDMR detection together with the inductive detector on a single integrated circuit, resulting in a highly miniaturized, highly sensitive system for the combined measurement of inductive ESR and EDMR signals.In summary, in the proposed project, we will design two electron spin detection systems which optimally exploit the capabilities of modern nanometer scale integrated circuit technologies to create sensors with high degrees of miniaturization and improved user-friendliness combined with an excellent sensitivity.