Nanofabricated photon tunneling based sensor
First Claim
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1. A refractive index detector comprising:
- a duct, said duct having an interior surface and a substantially parallel gap formed by a first wall and a second wall of said duct, said first wall and said second wall are transparent, said duct configured to receive a solution and configured to reflectively communicate light to an optical sensor as a function of said solution in said duct and as a function of light, having a wavelength, incident to said detector at an angle greater than a critical angle, and wherein a refractive index is calculated based on reflected light as measured by said optical sensor.
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Abstract
A system and method for detecting changes in the refractive index of a fluid in a small test volume. A change in the refractive index can indicate a change in the chemical composition of the fluid. The test volume has a depth comparable to or less than the wavelength of incident light. In one embodiment, an internal surface of the volume is coated with a binding partner selected to bind with a targeted molecule. When the targeted molecule binds to the binding partner, the optical properties of the system change. The refractive index is determined by illuminating the test volume with laser light and measuring transmitted or reflected light.
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12 Claims
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1. A refractive index detector comprising:
a duct, said duct having an interior surface and a substantially parallel gap formed by a first wall and a second wall of said duct, said first wall and said second wall are transparent, said duct configured to receive a solution and configured to reflectively communicate light to an optical sensor as a function of said solution in said duct and as a function of light, having a wavelength, incident to said detector at an angle greater than a critical angle, and wherein a refractive index is calculated based on reflected light as measured by said optical sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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