Containing analyte in optical cavity structures

• US 20080186494A1
• Filed: 02/05/2007
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kiesel, Peter, Bassler, Michael, Schmidt, Oliver
• Granted Patent: US 7,936,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/440
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/0346 Capillary cells; Microcells
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/0303 Optical path conditioning in cuvettes, e.g. windows; adapted optical elements or systems; path modifying or adjustment G01N21/031 - G01N21/15 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/05 Flow-through cuvettes G01N21/09 takes precedence; handling fluid samples G01N1/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/253 for batch operation, i.e. multisample apparatus analytical automats G01N35/00

Abstract

A device can include both a photosensing component and an optical cavity structure, with the optical cavity structure including a part that can operate as an optical cavity in response to input light, providing laterally varying output light. For example, the optical cavity can be a graded linearly varying filter (LVF) or other inhomogeneous optical cavity, and the photosensing component can have a photosensitive surface that receives its output light without it passing through another optical component, thus avoiding loss of information. The optical cavity part can include a region that can contain analyte. Presence of the analyte affects the optical cavity part'"'"'s output light, and the photosensing component can respond to the output light, providing sensing results indicating the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a photosensing component with one or more photosensitive surfaces; and

an optical cavity structure including;

an inhomogeneous transmissive optical cavity with a light-transmissive region between first and second inward reflection surfaces; and

an analyte region that can contain analyte within the light-transmissive region, presence of the analyte in the analyte region affecting the optical cavity'"'"'s output light;

the photosensing component being positioned to receive the output light and, in response, the photosensing component providing sensing results that include information about the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics.

2. The device in claim 1 which the photosensing component includes one photosensitive surface that receives the optical cavity'"'"'s output light with no intervening optical component.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the optical cavity structure further includes:

first and second light-reflective components that include the first and second reflection surfaces, respectively.

4. A system comprising:

an optical cavity device that includes;

a photosensing component with one or more photosensitive surfaces; and

connected to the photosensing component, an optical cavity structure that includes;

an inhomogeneous optical cavity with a light-transmissive region between first and second inward reflection surfaces; and

an analyte region that can contain analyte within the light-transmissive region, presence of the analyte in the analyte region affecting the optical cavity'"'"'s output light;

in response to analyte-affected output light from the optical cavity, the photosensing component providing sensing results that include information about the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics; and

monitor circuitry connected to receive the sensing results from the photosensing component, the monitor circuitry using the sensing results to monitor the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a light source component that includes at least one of;

a broadband light source that provides input light to the optical cavity in a broad photon energy band; and

an array with multiple narrow band light sources, each providing input light to the optical cavity in a respective narrow photon energy band, the respective photon energy bands of at least two of the narrow band light sources being different.

6. A method comprising:

illuminating an optical cavity structure that includes a transmissive optical cavity with a light-transmissive region between first and second inward reflection surfaces, the light-transmissive region including an analyte region in which analyte can be present;

in response to illumination with analyte in the analyte region, the optical cavity providing output light with a laterally varying output energy distribution that includes information about an optical characteristic of the analyte; and

using a photosensing component connected to the optical cavity structure to photosense the output light, the photosensing component providing sensing results indicating the optical characteristic of the analyte.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

positioning analyte in the analyte region.

8. The method of claim 7 in which the analyte region is inside a channel, the act of position analyte comprising:

carrying the analyte on a fluid through the channel.

9. The method of claim 6 in which the optical cavity is inhomogeneous, the illumination being uniform across a surface of the optical cavity structure.

10. The method of claim 9 in which the inhomogeneous optical cavity is sufficiently thin to transmit only a single mode at each position, the act of illuminating the optical cavity structure comprising one of:

illuminating the inhomogeneous optical cavity with broadband illumination; and

illuminating the inhomogeneous optical cavity in a set of narrow photon energy bands.

11. The method of claim 9 in which the optical cavity is a linearly variable filter.

12. The method of claim 6 in which the optical cavity is inhomogeneous, the act of illuminating the optical cavity structure comprising one of:

illuminating the inhomogeneous optical cavity in a sequence of illuminations, each illumination being in a respective narrow photon energy band, at least two of the photon energy bands being different from each other; and

illuminating a set of regions of the inhomogeneous optical cavity, each region being illuminated in a respective narrow photon energy band.

13. The method of claim 6 in which the optical cavity is homogeneous, the illumination being incident on a surface of the optical cavity structure across a range of angles of incidence.

14. The method of claim 6 in which the photosensing component is a photosensing array, the act of using the photosensing component comprising:

reading out photosensed quantities from cells of the photosensing array.

15. The method of claim 6 in which the photosensing component is a position-sensitive detector and the laterally varying output energy distribution includes a light spot, the act of using the photosensing component comprising:

providing signals indicating the light spot'"'"'s position on the position-sensitive detector.

16. A method comprising:

producing an optical cavity device that includes;

a photosensing component with one or more photosensitive surfaces; and

connected to the photosensing component, an optical cavity structure that includes an inhomogeneous transmissive optical cavity with a light-transmissive region between first and second inward reflection surfaces;

the act of producing the optical cavity device comprising;

producing the optical cavity structure so that it includes an analyte region that can contain analyte within the light-transmissive region, presence of the analyte in the analyte region affecting the optical cavity'"'"'s output light;

in response to analyte-affected output light from the optical cavity, the photosensing component providing sensing results that include information about the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics.

17. The method of claim 16 in which the act of producing the optical cavity structure comprises:

producing the optical cavity structure on one or more of the photosensitive surfaces of the photosensing component.

18. A device comprising:

a photosensing component with one or more photosensitive surfaces; and

an optical cavity structure that can receive input light from external light sources;

the photosensing component and the optical cavity structure being connected;

the optical cavity structure including;

an optical cavity with an analyte region that can contain analyte;

with analyte present in the analyte region, the optical cavity having, in response to input light from one or more external light sources, an analyte-affected laterally varying energy output function; and

a light interface surface at which the optical cavity can provide output light to the photosensitive surfaces in response to the input light;

with the analyte present in the analyte region, the optical cavity providing analyte-affected output light at the light interface surface in response to the input light;

as a result of the analyte-affected energy output function, the analyte-affected output light providing an analyte-affected, laterally varying intensity distribution on the photosensitive surfaces;

in response to the analyte-affected output light, the photosensing component providing sensing results that include information about the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics.

19. The device of claim 18 in which the information about the analyte'"'"'s optical characteristics includes information about at least one of refractive index, absorption coefficient, and absorption spectrum of the analyte.

20. The device of claim 18 in which the photosensing component includes at least one of a photosensor array and a position-sensitive detector.

21. The device of claim 18 in which the photosensing component includes only one photosensitive surface, the optical cavity structure being a layered structure with a lowest layer deposited on the one photosensitive surface;

the photosensing component and the optical cavity structure being connected by an interface between the lowest layer and the photosensitive surface.

22. The device of claim 18 in which the photosensing component and the optical cavity structure are connected by a support structure that supports them both;

the device further comprising;

an optical component supported on the support structure;

the optical component receiving at least part of the analyte-affected output light from the light interface surface and, in response, providing the analyte-affected, laterally varying intensity distribution on the photosensitive surfaces.

23. The device of claim 22 in which the optical component is a lens that images the analyte-affected output light onto the photosensitive surfaces.

24. The device of claim 18 in which the optical cavity structure has lateral inhomogeneity, the lateral inhomogeneity causing the laterally varying energy output function.