Design of a Fluorescent Lifetime Imager

本研究的目的是确定集成电路传感器是否可以联合收割机结合荧光强度成像仪和荧光寿命传感器的优点。 该方法是比较三种竞争技术的高速光子探测（传统的像素，photomixing像素和单光子雪崩二极管）在像素，成像器和应用程序的水平。 智能优点在荧光强度测量中包含荧光寿命数据可以提高信噪比，增加成像通道的数量，甚至可以开发不需要滤光片的低成本荧光成像仪。 这种荧光寿命数据很少被收集，因为现有的传感器昂贵且缓慢。 这里提出的工作将证明，集成电路探测器可以克服这些障碍，或指出集成电路探测器的研究，以达到这一目标的方式。更广泛的影响荧光仪器在医疗诊断，药物发现和病原体检测是至关重要的。 该项目将能够创造更灵敏、更便携、更快和更便宜的新仪器。 这些传感器的开发也是培养学生在电路设计的经典领域和生物电子学的新兴领域的机会。 特别是，一名研究生将为混合信号电路设计的职业生涯做好准备，一组本科生将获得跨学科工程开发经验，这些系统用于测试这些集成电路与现实的荧光分析。

The objective of this research is to determine if an integrated circuit sensor can combine the benefits of fluorescence intensity imagers and fluorescence lifetime sensors. The approach is to compare three competing technologies for high-speed photon detection (traditional pixels, photomixing pixels, and single photon avalanche diodes) at the pixel, imager, and application level. Intellectual MeritThe inclusion of fluorescence lifetime data in fluorescence intensity measurements can improve the signal-to-noise ratio, increase the number of imaging channels, and even allow the development of low-cost fluorescence imagers that do not require filters. This fluorescence lifetime data is only rarely collected because existing sensors are expensive and slow. The work proposed here will either demonstrate that integrated circuit detectors can overcome these hurdles or point the way to research on integrated circuit detectors to reach that goal.Broader ImpactsFluorescence instruments are critical in medical diagnosis, drug discovery, and pathogen detection. This project will enable creation of new instruments that are more sensitive, more portable, faster, and cheaper. The development of these sensors is also an opportunity to train students in the classic area of circuit design and the emerging area of bioelectronics. In particular, a graduate student will be prepared for a career in mixed-signal circuit design and a team of undergraduates will gain experience in interdisciplinary engineering developing the systems for testing these integrated circuits with realistic fluorescence assays.