Integrated Optical Waveguide Sensors

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目旨在开发用于生物医学应用的新型集成光学传感器。这些传感器将基于抗谐振反射光波导（ARROW），允许光在被半导体包围的低折射率（液体或气体）层中传播和引导。基于这一原理，高度集成的仪器将与光纤技术兼容，并特别避免在三维空间中使用涉及显微镜和低效光耦合的笨重光学装置。这种方法有几个关键的优点，最显著的是更高的灵敏度，更低的耦合损耗，以及由于波导结构的平面性质而具有大规模并行器件的潜力。这种低折射率波导的具体应用包括单个DNA分子的荧光检测，高效的小体积流式细胞术，以及含有生物分子或气体的液体的敏感吸收测量。该项目对人类健康的影响范围从提高对DNA的基本认识到更灵敏地检测液相或气相中的潜在有害物质。这项探索性资助的具体目的是首次演示在具有非固体（液体或气体）核心的低折射率光波导中进行光引导，并制造适合荧光测量的第一代光学平台。研究将涵盖以下三个领域：理论与仿真、微加工和光学测试。理论工作将包括设计合适的ARROW波导结构和计算这些波导中荧光的检测效率。微加工的努力将解决电介质多层结构的生长和质量控制，以及充满液体或气体的低指数通道的制造。最后，将对原型进行光谱学测试，以确保与模拟结果一致，并测试制造技术的稳健性。将对生物样品（如单个DNA分子）进行荧光测量，以证明该生物医学仪器集成平台的潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this project is the development of novel integrated optical sensors for biomedical applications. These sensors will be based on anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguides (ARROW) that allow for light propagation and guiding in low-index (liquid or gas) layers surrounded by semiconductors. Based on this principle, highly integrated instruments will be built that are compatible with fiber optic technologies and specifically avoid bulky optical setups in three dimensions involving microscopes and inefficient light coupling. This approach has several key advantages, most notably higher sensitivity, lower coupling losses and the potential for massively parallel devices due to the planar nature of the waveguide structures. Specific applications of such low-index waveguides can include fluorescence detection from single DNA molecules, highly-efficient low-volume flow cytometry, and sensitive absorption measurements of liquids containing biomolecules or gases. The implications to human health of this project range from improving fundamental understanding of DNA to more sensitive detection of potentially harmful substances in the liquid or gas phase. The specific aims of this exploratory grant are to provide the first demonstration of light guiding in low-index optical waveguides with non-solid (liquid or gas) cores and the fabrication of a first generation optical platform suitable for fluorescence measurements. The research will cover the following three areas: theory and simulation, microfabrication, and optical testing. Theoretical work will include the design of suitable ARROW waveguide structures and the calculation of detection efficiency for fluorescence in these waveguides. Microfabrication efforts will address growth and quality control of dielectric multilayer structures and fabrication of low-index channels filled with liquid or gas. Finally, prototypes will be tested with optical spectroscopy to ensure agreement with simulations and to test the robustness of the fabrication techniques. Fluorescence measurements on biological samples such as single DNA molecules will be carried out to demonstrate the potential of this integrated platform for biomedical instruments.