A device for determining a refractive index may be provided. The device including at least one waveguide having a core and a cladding surrounding the core, the cladding being at least partly removed in at least one first longitudinal portion and the core including at least one fiber Bragg grating in at least one second longitudinal portion. A method for determining a refractive index or a pressure change in a fluid may also provided. The method may include at least one waveguide having a core and a cladding surrounding the core, the cladding being at least partly removed in at least one longitudinal portion. A method for producing such a device may also be provided.

Methods for determining a sample concentration of target entities in a sample, for example, determining a concentration of target antigens or antibodies in a blood sample or other biological sample.

Disclosed is a device and method allowing a trace amount of a target substance to be detected. A metallic nanoparticle assembly structure is formed of metallic nanoparticles assembled together and modified with a host molecule allowing the target substance to specifically adhere thereto. A metallic nanorod is modified with a host molecule allowing the target substance to specifically adhere thereto. The metallic nanorod is conjugated to the metallic nanoparticle assembly structure by the target substance. An extinction spectrum of localized surface plasmon resonance or a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrum induced in the metallic nanoparticle assembly structure and the metallic nanostructure is measured with a spectroscope. The target substance is detected based on that spectrum.

A graphene optical sensor includes a graphene layer having a surface, a first electrode and a second electrode, formed on the surface of the graphene layer, and arranged in a first direction parallel to the surface of the graphene layer, and a plurality of plasmonic antennas provided on the surface of the graphene layer between the first and second electrodes. Each plasmonic antenna of the plurality of plasmonic antennas, in a plan view, includes a first rod portion extending in a second direction inclined from the first direction, and a second rod portion extending in a third direction inclined from the first direction in a direction opposite the second direction with reference to the first direction, and intersecting the first rod portion. The plurality of the plasmonic antennas is arranged periodically in the second direction and in the third direction.

In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a method for establishing a solvent correction curve as well as using the curve for obtaining a corrected sensorgram or corrected report points from a sensorgram of an analyte. In another embodiment, the present invention provides an analytical system for studying molecular interactions, which comprises computer processing means including program code means for performing the steps of the methods. Also provided is a computer program product comprising program code means stored on a computer readable medium or carried on an electrical or optical signal for performing the steps of the methods.

A method and apparatus for measuring a refractive index in a model-free manner are disclosed. The method includes: emitting a light to a surface plasmon generation layer that includes a nanoslot antenna and is disposed adjacent to a sample, to convert the light into surface plasmon; measuring a transmission of the sample from the light that is emitted onto the surface plasmon generation layer and passes through the sample; repeating the measuring the transmission while changing a length of the nanoslot antenna; and determining, based on a machine learning scheme, a restoration refractive index of the sample that is close to a graph of transmissions measured while changing the length of the nanoslot antenna from a library including a refractive index, a length of the nanoslot antenna, and a transmission at a specific wavelength.

A mobile, self contained molecular diagnostics system is provided with a microfluidic chip, detection apparatus and an integrated or wireless control interface and imager. The system provides automated sample preparation and rapid optical detection of multianalyte nucleic acids and proteins. On chip PCR may be performed to improve the optical fluorescence signal for nucleic acid detections. Plasmonic protein detection is performed using a dark field smartphone microscope. Dark field illumination is based on an evanescent field generated by LED total internal reflection. The smartphone element may also be used as an interface to control the detection apparatus, acquire images, process data and for wireless communications with remote computers. The handheld automated system has low power requirements and is particularly suited for point of care and on demand diagnostics in resource limited settings.

A label-free method for the spatio-temporal mapping of protein secretions from individual cells in real time by using a chip for localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) imaging. The chip is a glass coverslip compatible for use in a standard microscope having at least one array of functionalized plasmonic nanostructures patterned onto it. After placing a cell on the chip, the secretions from the cell are spatially and temporally mapped using LSPR imaging. Transmitted light imaging and/or fluorescence imaging may be done simultaneously with the LSPR imaging.

A gas detector (10) includes a cell internal space (130) into which a target gas is supplied, the target gas exhibiting an absorption peak in an absorption spectrum; a light source (410) configured to generate light having at least a wavelength belonging to the absorption peak; and a photodetector (420) configured to detect the light that has emitted from the light source (410) and has propagated through the cell internal space (130). The gas detector (10) further includes a conductive thin film (220) in which a plurality of optical apertures (222) are regularly arranged such that a transmission peak in a transmission spectrum is superimposed over the absorption peak in the absorption spectrum along a wavelength axis. The conductive thin film (220) is provided on an optical path extending from the light source (410) to the photodetector (420), and is provided so as to be contactable with the target gas within the cell internal space (130).

The invention relates to a method for determining the thickness of a contaminating layer and/or the type of a contaminating material on a surface (7) in an optical system, in particular on a surface (7) in an EUV lithography system, comprising: irradiating the surface (7) on which plasmonic nanoparticles (8a,b) are formed with measurement radiation (10), detecting the measurement radiation (10a) scattered at the plasmonic nanoparticles (8a,b), and determining the thickness of the contaminating layer and/or the type of the contaminating material on the basis of the detected measurement radiation (10a). The invention also relates to an optical element (1) for reflecting EUV radiation (4), and to an EUV lithography system.