Planar Lightwave Circuit based Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectrometer wit

描述(由申请人提供)：在这项小型企业技术转移研究(STTR)计划中，欧米茄光学公司和德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校提议开发一种基于平面光波电路的表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)光谱仪，用于单分子检测。SERS光谱仪的灵敏度来自于金纳米线之间5 nm的间距，可以达到108的拉曼散射信号增强因子(EF)。特别是，这些金纳米线通过一种精密的纳米实体操纵技术-电动镊子--精确地定位在共振腔中，这是一种可以将金属纳米线自由移动到预定位置的技术。从而以一种可重复、可控的方式获得表面增强拉曼散射热点。此外，所提出的片上SERS光谱仪是基于具有非凡光强增强的共振腔增强型(RCE)聚合物波导。共振效应能够使表面增强拉曼散射的灵敏度进一步提高至少四个数量级。总增强因子为1012的片内SERS光谱仪有望实现单分子检测能力，即使对于那些非常小的拉曼散射截面也是如此。研究或开发的预期效益/潜在商业应用：拟议的基于平面光波电路的SERS光谱仪将导致开发一种具有极高灵敏度和易用性的新型拉曼传感技术。它在生物医学研究、化学工程、环境监测等领域有着广泛的应用。此外，它既可以在实验室使用，也可以在田间使用。 与公众健康相关：在这项小型企业技术转移研究(STTR)计划中，欧米茄光学公司和德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校提议开发一种基于平面光波电路的表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)光谱仪，其灵敏度提高了1012，用于单分子检测。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this small business technology transfer research (STTR) program, Omega Optics and the University of Texas at Austin propose to develop a planar lightwave circuit based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrometer for single molecule detection. The sensitivity of the SERS spectrometer comes from the 5-nm gap between gold nanowires, which can achieve 108 enhancement factor (EF) for the Raman scattering signals. Especially, these gold nanowires are precisely positioned in the resonant cavity by an exquisite nano-entity manipulation technology --- electrical tweezers, a technique with which one can freely move metallic nanowires to predefined positions. Thus the hot-spots for SERS are obtained by a repeatable and controllable manner. Additionally, the proposed on-chip SERS spectrometer is based on resonant cavity enhanced (RCE) polymer waveguides with extraordinary optical intensity enhancement. The resonant effect is capable of further increasing the sensitivity of the SERS by at least four orders of magnitude. With 1012 enhancement factor in total, the proposed on-chip SERS spectrometer is expected to achieve single-molecule-detection capability even for those with very small Raman scattering cross sections. Anticipated Benefits/Potential Commercial Applications of the Research or Development: The proposed planar lightwave circuit based SERS spectrometer will lead to the development of a new class of Raman sensing technique with extraordinarily high sensitivity and ease of use. It can find broad applications in biomedical research, chemical engineering, and environment monitoring. Plus, it can be used both in the laboratory and in the field. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In this small business technology transfer research (STTR) program, Omega Optics and the University of Texas at Austin propose to develop a planar lightwave circuit based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrometer with 1012 sensitivity enhancement for single molecule detection.