The invention relates to the field of surface waves based optical devices particularly tuneable optical filter, optical biosensors and spatial light modulators. An optical sensor and tuneable filter is disclosed based on high contrast periodic structures deposited on a substrate and using a compact reading method for low detection limit using a one dimensionally diverging quasi-monochromatic beam and a camera.

A contact lens includes a contact lens body and a glucose detection sheet disposed on the contact lens body. The glucose detection sheet includes a glucose recognition layer, a photonic crystal array is provided in the glucose recognition layer, and the glucose recognition layer is configured to recognize glucose.

Disclosed is a resonant wavelength measurement apparatus, including a light source and a measurement unit. The measurement unit has a guided-mode resonance filter and a photosensitive element. The guided-mode resonance filter has a plurality of resonant areas, and each resonant area has a different filtering characteristic, to receive first light in the light source transmitted by a sensor or receive second light in the light source reflected by the sensor. The first light has a first corresponding pixel on the photosensitive element, the second light has a second corresponding pixel on the photosensitive element, and the first corresponding pixel and the second corresponding pixel correspond to a same resonant wavelength.

There is provided a chirped diffractive element (20) in the form of a grating (22) configured for supporting a plurality of guided mode resonances (54), which resonances (54) may be considered to comprise a standing wave. Chirping the grating (22) may allow guided mode resonances (54) to be distinguishable in terms of position within a section (34) the grating (22). An incident electromagnetic field may be coupled into at least one of the sections (34) when the electromagnetic field has a wavelength value within a predetermined wavelength range and a sample has a refractive index value within a predetermined index range. The incident electromagnetic field may be reflected by at least one of the sections (34) of the grating (22) exhibiting a guided mode resonance (54). The reflected electromagnetic field from the section (34) can then be detected by directly imaging the grating (22), thereby revealing the position of the exhibited guided mode resonance (54) in the grating (22), and thereby inferring the refractive index value of the sample.

The present invention provides a dual grating sensor having at least two double-sided grating structures for detecting the properties of an analyte. The dual grating sensor includes a substrate, a waveguide layer which is formed on the substrate and has at least two double-sided grating structures, and an upper cover configured on the waveguide layer, wherein a channel is formed between the upper cover and the waveguide layer for the analyte to flow therethrough. A light couples into the waveguide layer via the first double-sided grating structure, transmits in the waveguide layer, and couples out of the waveguide layer via the second double-sided grating structure, such that the properties of the analyte can be detected according to the change of the light intensities of the emergent light. The sensitivity of the dual grating sensor has an additive effect when the light passes through the first double-sided grating structure and the second double-sided grating structure.

An active-source-pixel, integrated device capable of performing biomolecule detection and/or analysis, such as single-molecule nucleic acid sequencing, is described. An active pixel of the integrated device includes a sample well into which a sample to be analyzed may diffuse, an excitation source for providing excitation energy to the sample well, and a sensor configured to detect emission from the sample. The sensor may comprise two or more segments that produce a set of signals that are analyzed to differentiate between and identify tags that are attached to, or associated with, the sample. Tag differentiation may be spectral and/or temporal based. Identification of the tags may be used to detect, analyze, and/or sequence the biomolecule.

An active-source-pixel, integrated device capable of performing biomolecule detection and/or analysis, such as single-molecule nucleic acid sequencing, is described. An active pixel of the integrated device includes a sample well into which a sample to be analyzed may diffuse, an excitation source for providing excitation energy to the sample well, and a sensor configured to detect emission from the sample. The sensor may comprise two or more segments that produce a set of signals that are analyzed to differentiate between and identify tags that are attached to, or associated with, the sample. Tag differentiation may be spectral and/or temporal based. Identification of the tags may be used to detect, analyze, and/or sequence the biomolecule.

Methods and systems for highly-sensitive label-free multiple analyte sensing, biosensing, and diagnostic assay are disclosed. The systems comprise an on-chip integrated two-dimensional photonic crystal sensor chip. The invention provides modulation methods, wavelength modulation and intensity modulation, to monitor the resonance mode shift of the photonic crystal microarray device and further provides methods and systems that enable detection and identification of multiple species to be performed simultaneously with one two-dimensional photonic crystal sensor chip device for high throughput chemical sensing, biosensing, and medical diagnostics. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

A method for the detection of binding affinities comprises providing a device having a planar waveguide (2) arranged on a substrate (3) and an optical coupler (4). Coherent light (1) of a predetermined wavelength is coupled into the planar waveguide (2) such that the coherent light propagates along the planar waveguide (2), with an evanescent field (6) of the coherent light propagating along an outer surface (5) of the planar waveguide (2). Target samples (8) attached to binding sites (7) are arranged along a plurality of predetermined lines (9) on the outer surface (5) of the planar waveguide (2). At a predetermined detection location, light of the evanescent field which is scattered by target samples (8) bound to binding sites (7) arranged along the predetermined lines (9) is detected. The light scattered by the target samples (8) bound to the binding sites (7) has, at the predetermined detection location, a difference in optical path length which is an integer multiple of the predetermined wavelength of the light.

Devices and methods of providing a high-performance optical sensor disclose a sensor comprised of a porous material designed to have a multilayer rib-type or multilayer pillar-type waveguide geometry. The resulting porous nanomaterial multilayer-rib or multilayer-pillar waveguide design is optically capable of achieving 100% confinement factor while maintaining small mode area and single-mode character. Fabrication of the device is enabled by an inverse processing technique, wherein silicon wafers are first patterned and etched through well-established techniques, which allows porous nanomaterial synthesis (i.e., porous silicon anodization) either at the wafer-scale or at the chip-scale after wafer dicing. While 100% is an optimal target, typical devices per presently disclosed subject matter may operate with 98-99+%, while allowing for some design adjustments to be made if necessary, and still maintaining high sensitivity. i.e., >85-90% confinement suitable in some applications. In those instances, a primary benefit would still be use of the presently disclosed fabrication technology.