Swept wavelength imaging optical interrogation system and method for using same

• US 20080204760A1
• Filed: 02/27/2007
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Inventors: Gollier, Jacques, Wu, Qi
• Granted Patent: US 7,599,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/484
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/34 the beams of light being detected by photocells
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/253 for batch operation, i.e. multisample apparatus analytical automats G01N35/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/7703 using reagent-clad optical fibres or optical waveguides using measurement of total internal reflection or attenuated total reflection G01N21/552; optical fibres or waveguides per se G02B

Abstract

A swept wavelength imaging optical interrogation system and a method for using the same to interrogate one or more biosensors are described herein. The swept wavelength imaging optical interrogation system is built upon a swept wavelength optical interrogation technology where a 2-D label free image is extracted from a series of high speed spectral images of the biosensor(s) without the need of performing mechanical scanning.

Claims

1. An interrogation system comprising:

a tunable laser that has a tuning range wherein an optical beam is emitted therefrom which has a predetermined sequence of distinct wavelengths over a predetermined time period;

illumination optics that converts the optical beam into one or more interrogation beams which illuminate one or more biosensors;

imaging optics that collects an image from the illuminated one or more biosensors;

a 2-D imaging device that obtains a sequence of the collected images each of which corresponds with one of the distinct wavelengths of the optical beam emitted from said tunable laser; and

a data processing device that receives the collected images and processes the collected images.

2. The interrogation system of claim 1, further comprising a wavelength tracking device which tracks the distinct wavelengths of the optical beam emitted from said tunable laser.

3. The interrogation system of claim 2, wherein said wavelength tracking device includes a fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer and an athermalized etalon.

4. The interrogation system of claim 2, wherein said wavelength tracking device includes a grating coupled waveguide with a chirped period, where the grating coupled waveguide is illuminated by one of the interrogation beams and the corresponding image is obtained by said 2-D imaging device and processed by said data processing device.

5. The interrogation system of claim 1, further comprising a power tracking device which tracks the power of said tunable laser.

6. The interrogation system of claim 1, wherein said tunable laser is a mode-hop free swept wavelength tunable laser.

7. The interrogation system of claim 1, wherein said illumination optics are setup such that each of the one or more interrogation beams has a substantially flat wavefront.

8. The interrogation system of claim 1, wherein said illumination optics are setup such that of each of the one or more interrogation beams has a wavefront that conforms to a surface of a microplate which contains the one or more biosensors.

9. The interrogation system of claim 1, where said imaging optics include a telecentric lens.

10. The interrogation system of claim 1, wherein said 2-D imaging device further includes:

a charge coupled device (CCD) camera with a global shutter;

or

a complementrary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera with a global shutter.

11. The interrogation system of claim 1, wherein said data processing device receives and processes the collected images to:

determine whether or not there was a biochemical interaction on each of the one or more biosensors;

locate sensor region(s) and/or reference region(s) on each of the one or more biosensors;

remove defect regions on each of the one or more biosensors; and

/or

calibrate a uniformity of surface chemistry and target molecule immobilizations on each of the one or more biosensors.

12. The interrogation system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more biosensors is a waveguide grating coupler biosensor.

13. A method for interrogating one or more biosensors, said method comprising the steps of:

emitting an optical beam which has a predetermined sequence of distinct wavelengths over a predetermined time period;

converting the optical beam into one or more interrogation beams which illuminate one or more biosensors;

collecting an image from the illuminated one or more biosensors;

obtaining a sequence of the collected images each of which corresponds with one of the distinct wavelengths of the emitted optical beam; and

processing the collected images.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising a step of tracking the distinct wavelengths of the emitted optical beam.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising a step of tracking the power of a tunable laser which emits optical beam.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein a mode-hop free swept wavelength tunable laser is used to emit the optical beam.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein said converting step includes a step of forming each of the one or more interrogation beams so they have a substantially flat wavefront.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein said converting step further includes a step of forming each of the one or more interrogation beams so they conform to a surface of a microplate which contains the one or more biosensors.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein a telecentric lens is used to collect the image from the illuminated one or more biosensors.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein a 2-D imaging device is used to obtain a sequence of the collected images each of which corresponds with one of the distinct wavelengths of the emitted optical beam.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein a data processing device is used to process the collected images to:

determine whether or not there was a biochemical interaction on each of the one or more biosensors;

locate sensor region(s) and/or reference region(s) on each of the one or more biosensors;

remove defect regions on each of the one or more biosensors; and

/or calibrate a uniformity of surface chemistry and target molecule immobilizations on each of the one or more biosensors.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein each of the one or more biosensors is a waveguide grating coupler biosensor.