Provided is a biosensor. The biosensor includes a substrate, an optical structure provided on the substrate, and a cover provided on the substrate and having a bridge shape that is in contact with a top surface of the substrate at both sides of the optical structure. The cover has a channel extending in a first direction, the optical structure is provided inside the channel, and the optical structure is configured to capture biomaterials that travel through the channel.

Disclosed herein are methods of performing multiplexed serological immunoassays to detect multiple antigens in parallel to determine if a patient has an infection or an immune disorder. Use of multiple antigens in parallel increases specificity and/or sensitivity towards assaying the infection or immune disorder. The infection may be a viral infection such as a SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, a variant of a SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, or a non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection. Also disclosed herein are methods of performing the multiplexed serological immunoassays on an optical ring resonator substrate. Also disclosed herein are methods of detecting antibodies specific for an antigen that belong to more than one immunoglobulin type.

A layer of amorphous Ge is formed on a substrate using electron-beam evaporation. The evaporation is performed at room temperature. The layer of amorphous Ge has a thickness of at least 50 nm and a purity of at least 90% Ge. The substrate is complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible and is transparent at Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) wavelengths. The layer of amorphous Ge can be used as a waveguide in chemical sensing and data communication applications. The amorphous Ge waveguide has a transmission loss in the LWIR of 11 dB/cm or less at 8 μm.

Building blocks are provided for on-chip chemical sensors and other highly-compact photonic integrated circuits combining interband or quantum cascade lasers and detectors with passive waveguides and other components integrated on a III-V or silicon. A MWIR or LWIR laser source is evanescently coupled into a passive extended or resonant-cavity waveguide that provides evanescent coupling to a sample gas (or liquid) for spectroscopic chemical sensing. In the case of an ICL, the uppermost layer of this passive waveguide has a relatively high index of refraction that enables it to form the core of the waveguide, while the ambient air, consisting of the sample gas, functions as the top cladding layer. A fraction of the propagating light beam is absorbed by the sample gas if it contains a chemical species having a fingerprint absorption feature within the spectral linewidth of the laser emission.

Methods and instruments for measuring a liquid sample (S1) in a well plate (50) by means of an optical chip 10. The chip (10) comprises an optical sensor (13) that is accessible to the liquid sample (S1) at a sampling area (SA) of the chip. A free-space optical coupler (11,12) is accessible to receive input light (L1) and/or emit output light (L2) via a coupling area (CA) of the chip (10). The sampling area (SA) of the chip 10 is submerged in the liquid sample (S1) while keeping the liquid sample (S1) away from the coupling area (CA) for interrogating the optical coupler (11,12) via an optical path (P) that does not pass through the liquid sample (S1).

Apparatus and methods for analyzing single molecule and performing nucleic acid sequencing. An apparatus can include an assay chip that includes multiple pixels with sample wells configured to receive a sample, which, when excited, emits emission energy; at least one element for directing the emission energy in a particular direction; and a light path along which the emission energy travels from the sample well toward a sensor. The apparatus also includes an instrument that interfaces with the assay chip. The instrument includes an excitation light source for exciting the sample in each sample well; a plurality of sensors corresponding the sample wells. Each sensor may detect emission energy from a sample in a respective sample well. The instrument includes at least one optical element that directs the emission energy from each sample well towards a respective sensor of the plurality of sensors.

A miniaturized integrated frequency locked optical whispering evanescent resonator comprises: an optical source; an optical path having a first end and a second end, the optical path coupled to the optical source at the first end; an optical resonator disposed along a side of the optical path between the first and second ends, the optical resonator coupled to the optical path through an evanescent field to excite an optical whispering-gallery mode; an optical receiver coupled to the second end of the optical path; and a digital data processor configured to communicate with the optical receiver and the optical source, wherein the digital data processor comprises a frequency locking system and a data acquisition system, wherein the frequency locking system tunes the frequency of the optical source to the optical whispering-gallery mode of the optical resonator, and wherein the resonator weighs less than 15 kg and is containable within a volume less than 30 liters.

The invention relates to a device for the label-free quantitative spectroscopic determination of the binding kinetics of an analyte. Essential components of the device, namely a light source (2), optical elements (5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 13; 13′) for beam guidance and for optically influencing the light of the light source (2) and light modes emitted by a microsensor (functionalized spherical microparticle) retained in a microstructure (3) as a result of the exposure to the light of the light source (2), a spectrometer, which consists of an optical receiver (10) for the emitted light modes and an evaluation unit, actuators (14; 15) for positioning a carrier (4) with the microstructure (3) arranged thereon, and at least one control unit, are jointly arranged in an apparatus (1) having an apparatus housing (11). The light, namely the light of the light source (2) and the light modes emitted by a microparticle in question as a result of the exposure to said light, is guided in three different planes within the apparatus housing (11) by means of the optical elements (5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 13; 13), in particular by means of a first optical deflecting element (6) and by means of a second optical deflecting element (7).

Building blocks are provided for on-chip chemical sensors and other highly-compact photonic integrated circuits combining interband or quantum cascade lasers and detectors with passive waveguides and other components integrated on a III-V or silicon. A MWIR or LWIR laser source is evanescently coupled into a passive extended or resonant-cavity waveguide that provides evanescent coupling to a sample gas (or liquid) for spectroscopic chemical sensing. In the case of an ICL, the uppermost layer of this passive waveguide has a relatively high index of refraction that enables it to form the core of the waveguide, while the ambient air, consisting of the sample gas, functions as the top cladding layer. A fraction of the propagating light beam is absorbed by the sample gas if it contains a chemical species having a fingerprint absorption feature within the spectral linewidth of the laser emission.

A method of transmitting at least one optical signal through an add-drop filter includes directing the at least one optical signal into a first tapered optical fiber of the add-drop filter. The add-drop filter includes an active resonator side-coupled between the first tapered optical fiber and a second tapered optical fiber, and the active resonator is doped with at least one rare earth ion. A tuned optical gain is produced by delivering a tuned amount of pump laser energy to the at least one rare earth ion at a sub-lasing level, the tuned optical gain configured to compensate an intrinsic loss of the active resonator.