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Ozcan C, Aitchison JS, Mojahedi M. Optimization of bulk sensitivity for strip, slot, and subwavelength grating-based waveguides for dual-polarization operation. OPTICS EXPRESS 2023; 31:3579-3594. [PMID: 36785347 DOI: 10.1364/oe.478716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
We propose a dual-polarization optimization method for the bulk sensitivity of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides by defining a multi-objective function that accounts for the substrate leakage losses. The proposed optimization method was used to design micro-ring resonator bulk sensors with strip, slot, subwavelength grating, and subwavelength grating slot waveguides. The subwavelength grating slot waveguide has a bulk sensitivity of 520 nm/RIU and 325 nm/RIU for the TE and TM modes, respectively, both of which are higher than the bulk sensitivities of strip, slot, and subwavelength grating waveguides. Moreover, our Monte Carlo analysis shows that the subwavelength grating slot waveguide has the highest immunity to fabrication errors.
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Progress and Challenges of Point-of-Need Photonic Biosensors for the Diagnosis of COVID-19 Infections and Immunity. BIOSENSORS 2022; 12:bios12090678. [PMID: 36140063 PMCID: PMC9496547 DOI: 10.3390/bios12090678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, continues to affect the world and after more than two years of the pandemic, approximately half a billion people are reported to have been infected. Due to its high contagiousness, our life has changed dramatically, with consequences that remain to be seen. To prevent the transmission of the virus, it is crucial to diagnose COVID-19 accurately, such that the infected cases can be rapidly identified and managed. Currently, the gold standard of testing is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which provides the highest accuracy. However, the reliance on centralized rapid testing modalities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has made access to timely diagnosis inconsistent and inefficient. Recent advancements in photonic biosensors with respect to cost-effectiveness, analytical performance, and portability have shown the potential for such platforms to enable the delivery of preventative and diagnostic care beyond clinics and into point-of-need (PON) settings. Herein, we review photonic technologies that have become commercially relevant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as emerging research in the field of photonic biosensors, shedding light on prospective technologies for responding to future health outbreaks. Therefore, in this article, we provide a review of recent progress and challenges of photonic biosensors that are developed for the testing of COVID-19, consisting of their working fundamentals and implementation for COVID-19 testing in practice with emphasis on the challenges that are faced in different development stages towards commercialization. In addition, we also present the characteristics of a biosensor both from technical and clinical perspectives. We present an estimate of the impact of testing on disease burden (in terms of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), and Quality-Adjusted Life Days (QALDs)) and how improvements in cost can lower the economic impact and lead to reduced or averted DALYs. While COVID19 is the main focus of these technologies, similar concepts and approaches can be used and developed for future outbreaks of other infectious diseases.
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Advanced Optical Sensing of Phenolic Compounds for Environmental Applications. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21227563. [PMID: 34833640 PMCID: PMC8619556 DOI: 10.3390/s21227563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Phenolic compounds are particularly dangerous due to their ability to remain in the environment for a long period of time and their toxic effects. They enter in the environment in different ways, such as waste from paper manufacturing, agriculture (pesticides, insecticides, herbicides), pharmaceuticals, the petrochemical industry, and coal processing. Conventional methods for phenolic compounds detection present some disadvantages, such as cumbersome sample preparation, complex and time-consuming procedures, and need of expensive equipment. Therefore, there is a very large interest in developing sensors and new sensing schemes for fast and easy-to-use methods for detecting and monitoring the phenolic compound concentration in the environment, with special attention to water. Good analytical properties, reliability, and adaptability are required for the developed sensors. The present paper aims at revising the most generally used optical methods for designing and fabricating biosensors and sensors for phenolic compounds. Some selected examples of the most interesting applications of these techniques are also proposed.
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Alberti S, Datta A, Jágerská J. Integrated Nanophotonic Waveguide-Based Devices for IR and Raman Gas Spectroscopy. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 21:7224. [PMID: 34770531 PMCID: PMC8587819 DOI: 10.3390/s21217224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
On-chip devices for absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy have been developing rapidly in the last few years, triggered by the growing availability of compact and affordable tunable lasers, detectors, and on-chip spectrometers. Material processing that is compatible with mass production has been proven to be capable of long low-loss waveguides of sophisticated designs, which are indispensable for high-light-analyte interactions. Sensitivity and selectivity have been further improved by the development of sorbent cladding. In this review, we discuss the latest advances and challenges in the field of waveguide-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (WERS) and waveguide infrared absorption spectroscopy (WIRAS). The development of integrated light sources and detectors toward miniaturization will be presented, together with the recent advances on waveguides and cladding to improve sensitivity. The latest reports on gas-sensing applications and main configurations for WERS and WIRAS will be described, and the most relevant figures of merit and limitations of different sensor realizations summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastián Alberti
- Department of Physics and Technology, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, 9019 Tromsø, Norway; (A.D.); (J.J.)
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Kohler D, Schindler G, Hahn L, Milvich J, Hofmann A, Länge K, Freude W, Koos C. Biophotonic sensors with integrated Si 3N 4-organic hybrid (SiNOH) lasers for point-of-care diagnostics. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2021; 10:64. [PMID: 33767136 PMCID: PMC7994412 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-021-00486-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Early and efficient disease diagnosis with low-cost point-of-care devices is gaining importance for personalized medicine and public health protection. Within this context, waveguide-(WG)-based optical biosensors on the silicon-nitride (Si3N4) platform represent a particularly promising option, offering highly sensitive detection of indicative biomarkers in multiplexed sensor arrays operated by light in the visible-wavelength range. However, while passive Si3N4-based photonic circuits lend themselves to highly scalable mass production, the integration of low-cost light sources remains a challenge. In this paper, we demonstrate optical biosensors that combine Si3N4 sensor circuits with hybrid on-chip organic lasers. These Si3N4-organic hybrid (SiNOH) lasers rely on a dye-doped cladding material that are deposited on top of a passive WG and that are optically pumped by an external light source. Fabrication of the devices is simple: The underlying Si3N4 WGs are structured in a single lithography step, and the organic gain medium is subsequently applied by dispensing, spin-coating, or ink-jet printing processes. A highly parallel read-out of the optical sensor signals is accomplished with a simple camera. In our proof-of-concept experiment, we demonstrate the viability of the approach by detecting different concentrations of fibrinogen in phosphate-buffered saline solutions with a sensor-length (L-)-related sensitivity of S/L = 0.16 rad nM-1 mm-1. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an integrated optical circuit driven by a co-integrated low-cost organic light source. We expect that the versatility of the device concept, the simple operation principle, and the compatibility with cost-efficient mass production will make the concept a highly attractive option for applications in biophotonics and point-of-care diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria Kohler
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 5, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany
- Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Gregor Schindler
- Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Lothar Hahn
- Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Johannes Milvich
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 5, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany
- Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert-Bosch-Campus 1, 71272, Renningen, Germany
| | - Andreas Hofmann
- Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics (IAI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Kerstin Länge
- Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Freude
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 5, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Christian Koos
- Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics (IPQ), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 5, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany.
- Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
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Butt MA, Khonina SN, Kazanskiy NL. Ultrashort inverted tapered silicon ridge-to-slot waveguide coupler at 1.55 µm and 3.392 µm wavelength. APPLIED OPTICS 2020; 59:7821-7828. [PMID: 32976452 DOI: 10.1364/ao.398550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Herein, a compact and efficient inverted tapered ridge-to-slot waveguide coupler design based on the silicon-on-insulator platform is presented. The proposed device consists of three segments such as ridge waveguide, inverted taper segment, and slot waveguide. The coupling segment resembles a V shape, which provides good mode-matching between the ridge and slot waveguide. Two significant aspects of the proposed coupler design are discussed. In the first part of the paper, the coupler design optimized at 1.55 µm is suggested for optical interconnect. The propagation loss and coupling efficiency of 1.69 dB/µm and 91% are obtained for the 100 nm long tapered segment introduced between the ridge waveguide and slot waveguide, respectively. This propagation loss of the device includes the loss suffered by the ridge waveguide, tapered segment, and slot waveguide. Our proposed device design can be used in integrated optical platforms, where the efficient coupling of light to slot waveguides is required. Whereas, in the second part, the coupler design is optimized at the mid-infrared of 3.392 µm for an evanescent field absorption methane gas sensor. Slot waveguide offers excessive light-matter interaction due to its strong mode confinement in the low index material. The evanescent field ratio of ∼0.73 is obtained for the optimized waveguide geometry. As a result, 3 dB decay in the transmitted power can be obtained at 60% of gas concentration present in the ambient medium.
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Talukdar TH, Allen GD, Kravchenko I, Ryckman JD. Single-mode porous silicon waveguide interferometers with unity confinement factors for ultra-sensitive surface adlayer sensing. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:22485-22498. [PMID: 31510540 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.022485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 07/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Guided wave-optics has emerged as a promising platform for label free biosensing. However, device sensitivity toward surface-bound small molecules is directly limited by the evanescent interaction and low confinement factor with the active sensing region. Here, we report a mesoporous silicon waveguide design and inverse fabrication technique that resolves the evanescent field interaction limitation while achieving maximal transverse confinement factors and preserving single-mode operation. The waveguide sensors are characterized in a Fabry-Perot interferometer configuration and the ultra-high sensitivity to small molecule adlayers is demonstrated. We also identify dispersion to be a promising degree of freedom for exceeding the sensitivity limits predicted by the conventional non-dispersive effective medium theory.
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Optical Biosensors Based on Silicon-On-Insulator Ring Resonators: A Review. Molecules 2019; 24:molecules24030519. [PMID: 30709027 PMCID: PMC6384601 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24030519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2018] [Revised: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent developments in optical biosensors based on integrated photonic devices are reviewed with a special emphasis on silicon-on-insulator ring resonators. The review is mainly devoted to the following aspects: (1) Principles of sensing mechanism, (2) sensor design, (3) biofunctionalization procedures for specific molecule detection and (4) system integration and measurement set-ups. The inherent challenges of implementing photonics-based biosensors to meet specific requirements of applications in medicine, food analysis, and environmental monitoring are discussed.
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