Sensing photon energies emanating from channels or moving objects
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A sensor comprising:
- a fluidic structure having defined therein a set of one or more channel portions within each of which fluid can move in a respective flow direction and photons can emanate from the moving fluid, with photons emanating from the moving fluid in each channel portion having energies within a respective range of photon energies; and
an IC that includes a photosensor array;
the array including, for at least one of the channel portions in the set, a respective series of two or more sets of cells;
each series extending along the respective channel portion in its flow direction;
each set of cells in a channel portion'"'"'s series being capable of photosensing photons within a respective subrange of the channel portion'"'"'s range of photon energies;
the respective subranges of at least two of the sets of cells being different from each other.
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Abstract
Photons emanating from a channel in a fluidic structure or from moving objects are sensed using a photosensor array in an integrated circuit. The array includes subrange cells that photosense within respective subranges of a photon energy range. For example, the subrange cells can receive photons in their respective subranges from a transmission structure that has laterally varying properties. The photons can be emitted in response to excitation or can be scattered in response to illumination.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A sensor comprising:
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a fluidic structure having defined therein a set of one or more channel portions within each of which fluid can move in a respective flow direction and photons can emanate from the moving fluid, with photons emanating from the moving fluid in each channel portion having energies within a respective range of photon energies; and
an IC that includes a photosensor array;
the array including, for at least one of the channel portions in the set, a respective series of two or more sets of cells;
each series extending along the respective channel portion in its flow direction;
each set of cells in a channel portion'"'"'s series being capable of photosensing photons within a respective subrange of the channel portion'"'"'s range of photon energies;
the respective subranges of at least two of the sets of cells being different from each other. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of detecting photon energies emanating from objects, the method comprising:
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causing one or more objects to travel along a path while photons within a range of photon energies emanate from the objects; and
along each of two or more segments of the path, photosensing quantity of a respective subset of photons from the objects using a respective set of one or more cells in a photosensor array included in an IC;
the subset of photons of each segment being within a respective subrange of the range of photon energies;
the respective subranges of at least two of the segments being different from each other. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 25)
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24. The method of claim 24, further comprising:
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obtaining information about at least one of an object'"'"'s position and speed;
the act of photosensing quantity of a respective subset of photons from the object being performed based on the information.
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26. A sensor comprising:
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an object movement component that causes objects to travel along a path while photons within a range of photon energies emanate from the objects; and
along the path, a photosensor array included in an IC;
along each of two or more segments of the path, the array including a respective set of one or more cells that photosense quantity of a respective subset of photons from the objects;
the respective subset of photons of each segment being within a respective subrange of the range of photon energies;
the respective subranges of at least two of the segments being different from each other. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. The sensor of claim 31, further comprising:
circuitry that, in response to quantities of photons photosensed by the sets of cells, provides signals indicating spectral information. - View Dependent Claims (32)
Specification