STTR Phase I: High Resolution Spectrometer-on-a-Chip Based on Nano-Optic Plasmonic Device

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段项目将研究开发基于等离子体纳米线阵列的超紧凑，高分辨率和低成本的片上光谱仪的可行性。响应于对非侵入式护理点诊断的日益增长的需求，已经做出了许多努力来使用各种常规技术来简化光学光谱仪。然而，它们还不能以低的生产成本同时实现显著的小型化和高的光谱性能。与笨重和昂贵的传统衍射光学器件不同，所提出的纳米光学器件利用了发生在金属纳米线表面和金属纳米线之间的间隙上的波长依赖的等离子体现象。这种纳米光学滤波器阵列有望在芯片上实现高分辨率光谱仪，克服衍射光学的限制。如果成功的话，所提出的超紧凑型高分辨率低成本片上光谱仪可以用于各种应用，例如移动的/可穿戴健康监测、多种气体检测和高分辨率颜色感测。消费电子产品制造商、便携式医疗设备供应商和无线传感器节点供应商都可能是潜在的客户。作为这些市场的关键组成部分，预计2012年拟议的单芯片光谱仪的总可寻址市场将超过10亿美元。拟议的活动将通过实现非侵入性、可靠、高通量、低成本的传感、检测和诊断，促进个性化的护理点、环境监测和国土安全。总体而言，这将导致医疗保健成本降低，生活质量提高。它们还将提供对光与纳米结构金属相互作用时发生的现象的坚实理解。该项目的成功完成还将为信息、生物和纳米技术的融合领域开辟新的应用机会。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will investigate the feasibility of developing an ultra-compact, high-resolution and low-cost spectrometer-on- a-chip, based on plasmonic nanowire arrays. In response to the growing demands for non-invasive point-of-care diagnostics, there have been many efforts to miniaturize optical spectrometers using various conventional technologies. However they are not yet conducive to both dramatic miniaturization and also high spectral performance at low production cost. Unlike the bulky and expensive conventional diffractive optical devices, the proposed nano-optic device utilizes the wavelength-dependent plasmonic phenomena occurring on metal nanowire surfaces and the gaps between the metal nanowires. This nano-optic filter array is expected to enable a high resolution spectrometer on a chip, overcoming the limits of diffractive optics. If successful the proposed ultra-compact high-resolution low-cost spectrometer-on-a-chip can be used in various applications such as mobile/wearable health monitoring, multiple gas detection, and high-resolution color sensing. Consumer electronics manufacturers, portable medical device vendors, and wireless sensor node suppliers can be all potential customers. As a key component to these markets, it is anticipated that the total addressable market for the proposed spectrometer-on-a-chip will be over $1 billion in 2012. The proposed activities will contribute to advancing personalized point-of-care, environmental monitoring, and homeland security by enabling non-invasive, reliable, high-throughput, low-cost sensing, detection and diagnostics. Overall it will result in health care cost reduction, and enhancement of the quality of life. They will also provide solid understanding of the phenomena occurring when a light interacts with nanostructured metal. Successful completion of this project will also open up new application opportunities in the convergence areas of information, bio and nanotechnologies.