Single mode (SM) fiber optical reader system and method for interrogating resonant waveguide-grating sensor(s)

• US 7,532,779 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Issued: 05/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Inventors: Gollier, Jacques, Piech, Garrett A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Font; Frank G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mooney; Michael P
• Application Number:
  US12/002,458
• Publication Number:
  US 20080101745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 385/12, 385/27, 385/33, 385/37, 385/39, 435/287.1
• US Class Current: 385/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/7743 the reagent-coated grating coupling light in or out of the waveguide

Abstract

An optical reader system is described herein which has a single mode (SM) optical fiber launch/receive system that uses one or more SM optical fibers to interrogate a biosensor and does not use multimode (MM) optical fibers to interrogate the biosensor. The use of the SM optical fiber launch/receive system effectively reduces angular sensitivity, reduces unwanted system reflections, improves overall angular tolerance, and improves resonant peak reflectivity and resonant peak width. Two specific embodiments of the SM optical fiber launch/receive system are described herein which include: (1) a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system; and (2) a single fiber launch/receive system that interrogates the biosensor at a normal incidence.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor,

wherein said biosensor is a resonant waveguide grating sensor.

2. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor, wherein said first and second single mode optical fibers are physically separated from a lens located a predetermined distance away from the biosensor which enables the rejection of Fresnel reflections and parasitic reflections which are created while interrogating the biosensor,

3. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor, wherein said first and second single mode optical fibers are physically separated from a lens located a predetermined distance away from the biosensor that effectively creates an input grating and an output grating out of a single grating within the biosensor while interrogating the biosensor.

4. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor, wherein said first and second single mode optical fibers are physically separated from a lens located an adjustable distance away from the biosensor which enables one to measure a loss coefficient alpha α

of the biosensor.

5. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor, wherein the use of the first and second single mode optical fibers within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system eliminates undesirable spatial modes which would be present if multimode optical fibers were used within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system.

6. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor, wherein the use of the first and second single mode optical fibers within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system causes said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system to have less sensitivity, in terms of wavelength variation, to angular deviations of the biosensor than if multimode optical fibers were used within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system.

7. A system, comprising:

a light source;

a light detector; and

a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which includes;

a first single mode optical fiber to output a sensor input beam to a biosensor; and

a second single mode optical fiber to receive a sensor output beam from the biosensor, wherein the use of the of the first and second single mode optical fibers within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system causes a resonant wavelength associated with the biosensor to be more stable than if multimode optical fibers were used within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system.

8. A method for interrogating a biosensor, said method comprising the steps of:

using a dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which does not have multimode optical fibers incorporated therein to interrogate the biosensor, wherein said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system includes;

the first single mode optical fiber;

the second single mode optical fiber; and

a lens, wherein said first single mode optical fiber is interfaced with a light source, wherein said first and second single mode optical fibers are physically separated from said lens and said lens is physically separated from said biosensor, wherein said first single mode optical fiber emits a light beam generated by said light source such that the emitted light beam is passed through said lens before interfacing with the biosensor, wherein said biosensor reflects the light beam such that the reflected light beam passes through said lens and said second single mode optical fiber and is received by a light detector, and wherein said biosensor is located within a microplate; and

moving said microplate and said biosensor relative to said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system which enables the emitted light beam to be scanned across different areas on said biosensor while interrogating said biosensor.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the use of the first and second single mode optical fibers within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system eliminates undesirable spatial modes which would be present if multimode optical fibers were used within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the use of the first and second single mode optical fibers within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system causes said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system to have less sensitivity, in terms of wavelength variation, to angular deviations of the biosensor than if multimode optical fibers were used within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the use of the of the first and second single mode optical fibers within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system causes a resonant wavelength associated with the biosensor to be more stable than if multimode optical fibers were used within said dual fiber collimator launch/receive system.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein said biosensor is a resonant waveguide grating sensor.