Sensing photon energies emanating from channels or moving objects

• US 7,547,904 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2005
• Issued: 06/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kiesel, Peter, Johnson, Noble M., Schmidt, Oliver
• Primary Examiner(s): Sohn; Seung C
• Application Number:
  US11/315,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20070146704A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• Field of Search: 250/573
• US Class Current: 250/573
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0654 Lenses; Optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/087 Multiple sequential chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0415 electrical forces, e.g. electrokinetic
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502715 characterised by interfacing components, e.g. fluidic, electrical, optical or mechanical interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0259 Monolithic
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/26 using multiple reflection, e.g. Fabry-Perot interferometer, variable interference filters
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/0346 Capillary cells; Microcells
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/052 Tubular type; cavity type; multireflective
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/3137 with selection of wavelengths after the sample
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/317 Special constructive features
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6417 Spectrofluorimetric devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6463 Optics
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6467 Axial flow and illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/6482 Sample cells, cuvettes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/651 Cuvettes therefore
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/05 Flow-through cuvettes G01N21/09 takes precedence; handling fluid samples G01N1/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/31 Investigating relative effect of material at wavelengths characteristic of specific elements or molecules, e.g. atomic absorption spectrometry G01N21/72 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6402 : Atomic fluorescence; Laser induced fluorescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6454 : using an integrated detector array
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/65 : Raman scattering
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/658 : enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54373 : involving physiochemical end-point determination, e.g. wave-guides, FETS, gratings

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.

Claims

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.

2. The sensor of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission structure that transmits photons to each series of sets of cells from the respective channel portion;

for each series of sets of cells, the transmission structure having a series of regions extending in the respective channel portion'"'"'s flow direction, each region transmitting to a respective set of the cells photons within a respective subrange of the range of photon energies;

the respective subranges of at least two of the regions being different from each other.

3. A method of using the sensor of claim 1, the method comprising:

with fluid moving through one of the channel portions in the respective flow direction, causing photons having energies within the respective range of photon energies to emanate from the moving fluid; and

using two or more of the channel portion'"'"'s respective sets of cells that have different respective subranges to photosense the emanating photons.

4. The method of claim 3 in which the photons emanate from volumes of fluid or from one or more objects being carried by the moving fluid through the channel portion.

5. The method of claim 4 in which the act of causing photons to emanate includes:

providing excitation to cause emission of photons.

6. The method of claim 5 in which the excitation is provided to droplets that include fluorescent components;

in response to the act of providing excitation, the fluorescent components radiating photons within one or more fluorescence subranges of the range of photon energies.

7. The method of claim 4 in which the act of causing photons to emanate includes:

providing illumination to cause scattering of photons.

8. The method of claim 7 in which the illumination is provided to droplets that include scattering components;

in response to the act of providing illumination, the scattering components scattering photons within one or more scattering subranges of the range of photon energies.

9. A method of producing the sensor of claim 1, the method comprising:

producing the sensor so that the array includes two or more sets of cells that photosense the emanating photons;

the sets of cells being positioned in a series extending in the flow direction along the channel;

each set of cells photosensing photons within a respective subrange of the range of photon energies;

the respective subranges of at least two of the sets of cells being different from each other.

10. 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 or from objects carried by the moving fluid, with photons emanating in each channel portion having energies within a respective range of photon energies;

for one of the channel portions in the set, a respective lens array through which a portion of the photons emanating from the channel portion can pass;

for the one of the channel portions, a respective transmission structure that receives and transmits photons from the respective lens array, the transmission structure having laterally varying transmission properties; and

an integrated circuit (IC) that includes a photosensor array;

the array including, for the one of the channel portions, a respective series of two or more sets of cells;

the series extending along the one of the channel portions in its flow direction;

the respective lens array and transmission structure of the one of the channel portions being structured so that each of the sets of cells in the respective series receives emanating light from a respective segment of the one of the channel portions;

for each of the sets of cells, the transmission structure having a respective region that receives photons from the respective segment through the lens array and that transmits photons to the respective set of the cells, each region transmitting photons within a respective subrange of the range of photon energies of the one of the channel portions;

the respective subranges of at least two of the regions being different so that the respective sets of cells photosense photons within different photon energy subranges.

11. The sensor of claim 10 in which the channel portions are portions of a single channel.

12. The sensor of claim 10 in which the channel portions are portions of different channels.

13. The sensor of claim 10 in which the respective transmission structure of the one of the channel portions includes a coating that varies continuously in the flow direction of the channel portion, each respective region including a respective area of the coating.

14. The sensor of claim 13 in which the coating is over the photosensor array.

15. The sensor of claim 10 in which the respective ranges of photon energy of at least two of the channel portions are different from each other.

16. The sensor of claim 10, further comprising:

circuitry that, in response to quantities of photons photosensed by the sets of cells, provides signals indicating spectral information.

17. The sensor of claim 10 in which the IC includes a COD or CMOS photosensor array.

18. Apparatus comprising the sensor of claim 10, the apparatus further comprising:

a propulsion component that can propel the fluid through the one of the channel portions.

19. A system that comprises the sensor of claim 10, the system further comprising:

a processor connected to read out photosensed quantities of photons from the photosensor array.

20. A sensor comprising:

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.

21. The sensor of claim 20 in which the object movement component includes a fluidic structure, the object movement component causing the objects to travel within a channel defined in the fluidic structure.

22. The sensor of claim 20, further comprising:

a transmission structure that transmits photons emanating from each segment of the path to the respective set of cells;

the transmission structure having a series of regions along the path, each region transmitting photons from a respective segment of the path to the respective set of the cells, each region transmitting to the respective set of the cells photons within a respective subrange of the range of photon energies;

the respective subranges of at least two of the regions being different.

23. The sensor of claim 22 in which the transmission structure includes a coating that varies continuously along the path, each region in the respective series of regions including a respective area of the coating.

24. The sensor of claim 23 in which the coating is over the photosensor array.

25. The sensor of claim 20, further comprising:

circuitry that, in response to quantities of photons photosensed by the sets of cells, provides signals indicating spectral information.

26. A system that comprises the sensor of claim 20, the system further comprising:

a processor connected to read out photosensed quantities of photons from the photosensor array.

27. A method of detecting photon energies emanating from objects, the method comprising:

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.

28. The method of claim 27 in which the act of photosensing further comprises, in at least one of the segments of the path:

transmitting only the segment'"'"'s respective subset of photons from the path to the segment'"'"'s respective set of cells; and

photosensing quantity of the segment'"'"'s respective subset of photons transmitted to the segment'"'"'s respective set of cells.

29. The method of claim 27 in which the act of causing objects to travel comprises carrying the objects in a fluid.

30. The method of claim 27 in which the act of causing objects to travel comprises causing one object at a time to travel through the segments of the path so that the sets of cells photosense quantities of photons from one object at a time.

31. The method of claim 27 in which the photosensor array is along a series of at least two of the segments of the path;

the act of causing objects to travel comprising;

causing two or more objects at a time to concurrently travel through the series of segments so that two or more sets of cells in the photosensor array concurrently photosense quantities of photons, each set of cells photosensing photons from a respective one of two or more objects.

32. A method of operating a sensing component that includes:

along each of two or more segments of a path, a respective set of one or more cells in a photosensor array included in an integrated circuit;

the method comprising;

causing fluid to travel along the path and causing the fluid or objects carried by the fluid to emanate light within a range of photon energies as the fluid travels along the path;

from each segment of the path, receiving a respective subset of emanating light at a transmission structure that, in response, provides respective output light to the segment'"'"'s respective set of cells;

the subset of light 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;

operating each segment'"'"'s respective set of cells to photosense quantity of the respective subset of output light; and

operating the sensing component to provide output signals based on the photosensed quantities;

the act of causing fluid to travel and causing the fluid or objects carried by the fluid to emanate light comprising at least one of;

causing one light-emanating object at a time to travel through each segment of the path;

causing two or more light-emanating objects to concurrently travel past the photosensor array;

causing a closely spaced, continuous sequence of light-emanating objects to travel past the photosensor array; and

causing a continuous sequence of volumes of fluid to travel past the photosensor array, each volume including light-emanating particles.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

obtaining information about at least one of an object'"'"'s position and speed;

the act of operating each segment'"'"'s respective set of cells being performed based on the information.

34. The method of claim 32 in which the act of causing fluid to travel comprises providing excitation to cause emission of photons or providing illumination to cause scattering of photons.