Near ultraviolet-wavelength photonic-crystal biosensor with enhanced surface to bulk sensitivity ratio
First Claim
1. A photonic crystal biosensor comprising:
- an optically transparent substrate, a relatively low index of refraction material formed in a periodic grating structure applied to the substrate, the low index of refraction material comprising a porous dielectric material;
a relatively high index of refraction material deposited onto the low index of refraction grating structure;
wherein the grating structure period and high and low index of refraction materials are selected such that the sensor produces a substantial confinement of the electric field intensity due to light directed to the biosensor substantially at the plane of the periodic surface grating of the biosensor and wherein a reflection maximum at a resonant wavelength of the biosensor occurs in the near-ultraviolet portion of the spectrum;
and further wherein the sensor grating structure period and high and low index of refraction materials are selected to result in a biosensor which has a relatively high surface to bulk sensitivity ratio thereby improving the ability of the device to detect low concentrations of biomolecules, analytes, and/or and small molecules deposited on the surface of the biosensor.
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Abstract
Biosensors are disclosed based on one- or two-dimensional photonic-crystal reflectance filters operating at near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Rigorous Coupled-Wave Analysis simulations predict a more tightly confined resonant electric field at the surface of this biosensor as compared to previously fabricated near-infrared photonic-crystal biosensors. This change in the resonant electric field provides an improvement of over 4.5 times in the surface-sensitivity to bulk-sensitivity ratio, and therefore enables enhanced detection resolution for biomolecules adsorbed on the biosensor surface. These new biosensors can be fabricated in mass by replica molding. They are especially well suited for applications requiring the detection of small molecules or ultra-low analyte concentrations.
64 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A photonic crystal biosensor comprising:
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an optically transparent substrate, a relatively low index of refraction material formed in a periodic grating structure applied to the substrate, the low index of refraction material comprising a porous dielectric material;
a relatively high index of refraction material deposited onto the low index of refraction grating structure;
wherein the grating structure period and high and low index of refraction materials are selected such that the sensor produces a substantial confinement of the electric field intensity due to light directed to the biosensor substantially at the plane of the periodic surface grating of the biosensor and wherein a reflection maximum at a resonant wavelength of the biosensor occurs in the near-ultraviolet portion of the spectrum;
and further wherein the sensor grating structure period and high and low index of refraction materials are selected to result in a biosensor which has a relatively high surface to bulk sensitivity ratio thereby improving the ability of the device to detect low concentrations of biomolecules, analytes, and/or and small molecules deposited on the surface of the biosensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16)
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8. A method of fabricating a highly sensitive biosensor comprising the steps of:
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a) conducting a nanoreplication process by which a relatively low index of refraction material is patterned on an optically transparent substrate as a periodic surface grating structure;
b) depositing a relatively high index of refraction material onto the periodic surface grating structure;
c) wherein the grating structure period and high and low index of refraction materials are selected such that the sensor produces a substantial confinement of the electric field intensity due to light directed to the biosensor substantially at the plane of the periodic surface grating of the biosensor and wherein a reflection maximum at a resonant wavelength occurs in the near-ultraviolet portion of the spectrum, d) and further wherein the sensor grating structure period and high and low index of refraction materials are selected to result in a biosensor which has a relatively high surface to bulk sensitivity ratio thereby improving the ability of the device to detect low concentrations of biomolecules, analytes, and/or and small molecules deposited on the surface of the biosensor. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification