Method of manufacturing of a diffraction grating-based optical identification element

• US 20070236796A1
• Filed: 06/16/2006
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Illumina Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Illumina Incorporated
• Inventors: Traynor, Joseph, Li, Tuo, Rauseo, Anthony, Moon, John, Putnam, Martin, Szczepanek, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,375,890 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/566
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00459 Beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00463 Directed sorting
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0047 Pins
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/005 Beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00547 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00576 fluorophore
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00702 Processes involving means for analysing and characterising the products
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0636 Focussing flows, e.g. to laminate flows
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0668 Trapping microscopic beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0654 Lenses; Optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0409 centrifugal forces
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0457 passive flow or gravitation
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502707 characterised by the manufacture of the container or its components by shaping or joining plastic parts B29C59/00, B29C65/00; by laminating B32B37/00; manufacture of microstructural devices in general B81C
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5085 for multiple samples, e.g. microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/02076 Refractive index modulation gratings, e.g. Bragg gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0272 Substrate bearing the hologram
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2210/53 Coded object not directly interpretable, e.g. encrypted object, barcode
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2230/10 Microhologram not registered to the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2270/20 Shape
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2270/24 : Having particular size, e.g. microscopic
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06009 : with optically detectable marking G06K19/063, G06K19/08 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 359/90 : Methods

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a diffusion grating-based optical identification element is provided. The optical identification element includes a known optical substrate, having an optical diffraction grating disposed in the volume of the substrate. A large number of substrates or microbeads having unique identification codes can be manufactured by winding a substrate, such as a fiber, around a polygonal shaped cage/basket to form a fiber ribbon having flat sections. A grating writing station writes one or more gratings into each flat section to form a unique code to this section. Each flat section of fibers of the fiber ribbon is written with the same gratings to provide the same identification code, or alternatively each flat section may be have a different grating(s) written therein so that each section has a different identification code. The fiber ribbon is then removed from the cage and diced to form a groups of optical identification elements, each group having unique optical identification codes.

Claims

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. A method of manufacturing optical identification elements, the method comprising:

forming a diffraction grating in a fiber substrate along a longitudinal axis of said substrate, said grating having a resultant refractive index variation; and

cutting the substrate transversely to form a plurality of optical identification elements, said elements having said grating therein along substantially the entire length of said elements and each of said elements have substantially the same resultant refractive index variation.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the number of said plurality of elements comprises at least:

10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or 1,000,000.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein said grating provides an output optical signal indicative of a code when exposed to incident light and wherein each of said plurality of elements have substantially the same code.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of cutting is performed by a blade, a laser, or a mechanical anvil.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of forming is performed by creating an optical interference pattern at said grating location.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein said interference pattern is formed by interfering at least two laser beams.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein said interference pattern is formed by a phase mask having a laser beam incident thereon.

27. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

forming said fiber substrate into a fiber ribbon;

tensioning a layer of said fiber ribbon between a plurality of adjacent supports on a holding device so as to form a plurality of substantially flat grating writing sections;

forming said grating with a single exposure in the plurality of the substantially flat grating writing sections; and

removing the layer of fiber ribbon from the adjacent supports.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the method further comprises adhering a strip of tape to an outer surface of the layer of fiber ribbon so as to form a taped layer of fiber ribbon.

29. The method according to claim 27, wherein the method further comprises attaching the taped layer of fiber ribbon onto a fixture

30. The method according to claim 27, wherein the step of cutting includes cutting the fiber ribbon so as to form the plurality of optical identification elements.

31. The method according to claim 27, wherein said ribbon forming step comprises winding at least two or more wraps of the fiber substrate around the device to form said ribbon.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein the substrate is photosensitive.

33. The method of claim 20, wherein the refractive index variation comprises at least one refractive index pitch superimposed at said grating location.

34. The method of claim 20, wherein the refractive index variation comprises a plurality of refractive index pitches superimposed at said grating location.

35. The method of claim 20, wherein said fiber is not a waveguide.

36. An optical identification element, made by the process of:

forming a diffraction grating in a fiber substrate along a longitudinal axis of said substrate, said grating having a resultant refractive index variation; and

cutting the substrate transversely to form a plurality of optical identification elements, said elements having said grating therein along substantially the entire length of said elements and each of said elements have substantially the same resultant refractive index variation.

37. A method of manufacturing optical identification elements;

the method comprising;

providing a fiber substrate having a diffraction grating disposed therein at a grating location along a longitudinal axis of said substrate, said grating having a resultant refractive index variation; and

cutting the substrate transversely at said grating location to form a plurality of optical identification elements, said elements having said grating therein along substantially the entire length of said elements and each of said elements have substantially the same resultant refractive index variation.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the number of said plurality of elements comprises at least:

10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or 1,000,000.