Nanospectroscopy Using Integrated Ultra-high Quality Factor Microcavities

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The nature of the proposed research is to investigate ultra-high quality factor microcavities integrated on a single silicon photonic chip for spectrally discerning individual nanoparticles and biomolecules, discovering their chemical compositions in high spectral resolution and observing their mutual interactions. The proposed research program will result in the development of lab-on-a-chip nanospectrometers that can be used to interrogate nano-objects and their interactions at individual level, in vitro, of super high spectral resolution and in real time. A whispering gallery microcavity can detect nanoscale objects down to the single molecule resolution. In the proposed research program, we plan to overcome two major challenges that the microcavity sensor community is facing. One is to enable the sensor to distinguish between different types of nanoparticles. The second is to integrate the microcavity sensor and supporting circuits onto a single chip for low-cost and portable applications. To solve the first challenge, we will extend our current research to whispering gallery microcavity based nanospectrometers. We will investigate microcavity enhanced Raman spectroscopy and employ the unique cavity optomechanical oscillation as a novel spectroscopic scheme. Short pulse generated from the microcavity will be used for ultra-fast and transient spectroscopy. To make our sensor portable, research on miniaturizing our device into a single silicon-on-insulator (SOI) chip will be investigated. Numerical tools supporting the research will also be developed. The rapid advancement of nanotechnologies demands devices of sensing, sizing and distinguishing the nanoscale objects. The proposed research targets to fill the needs. The successful completion of the research will be of interest to drug development engineers who are constantly searching for portable devices that can detect and distinguish single protein molecules as well as monitor their interactions with drugs at molecular levels. Physicists, microbiologists, and nanotechnologists will also find this work valuable in observing photon, nanospecimen, and protein interactions at individual particle levels. The anticipated outcomes of the research include the development of an integrated nanosensing and single-molecule nanospectroscopic lab-on-a-chip device. The successful demonstration of the proposed research will advance the related fields towards a new arena of single-molecule classification. This will benefit Canada via enhancing Canadian leadership in the related research and industry sectors, providing training to highly qualified personnel as well as improving societal quality of life.