SEMICONDUCTOR-LASER-INTEGRATED ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY OPTICAL PROBE

Abstract

A new semiconductor-laser-integrated Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) optical probe integrates a semiconductor laser and a silicon cantilever AFM probe into a robust easy-to-use chip to enable AFM measurements, optical imaging, and spectroscopy at the nanoscale.

Claims

1. A semiconductor-laser-integrated silicon or silicon nitride atomic force microscopy optical probe comprising: a semiconductor laser chip providing a gain medium section; and a silicon or silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe, all integrated into a single chip, wherein said silicon or silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe is an atomic force microscopy probe comprising a base, a cantilever, a tip formed at the end of the cantilever, and wherein the laser light emitted by said semiconductor laser chip is coupled into the probe tip as a result of propagation of the laser light in free space or in air.

2. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is bonded to the surface of the base or buried in the base of the silicon or silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe right in front of the cantilever or at some distance from the cantilever and aligned with the probe tip to couple the laser light into the probe tip.

3. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is fabricated from a specially designed semiconductor laser epitaxial structure with significantly improved divergence across the epitaxial layers to radically improve coupling of the laser light into the probe tip.

4. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 3, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is a three-section device divided into electrically isolated gain section and two absorber sections, located on both sides of the gain section, and the two absorber sections are used as photodetectors for detection of external light.

5. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 3, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is a two-section device divided into electrically isolated gain section and saturable absorber section to allow ultrafast pulse generation.

6. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 5, wherein the saturable absorber section of the semiconductor laser chip is used as a photodetector for intracavity light detection.

7. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 3, wherein a second semiconductor laser chip with the same epitaxial structure is bonded to the surface of the base or buried in the base of the silicon or silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe alongside the first semiconductor laser chip.

8. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 7, wherein the second laser chip is used for detection of the light scattered from the probe tip.

9. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 7, wherein the first and second semiconductor laser chips are vertically integrated stacks of two or more semiconductor laser chips designed for laser emission at different wavelengths.

10. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 9, wherein the first and second semiconductor laser chips are used for laser generation and light detection at multiple wavelengths in the first and second semiconductor laser chips, respectively.

11. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is based on one of the following semiconductor materials: GaAs, InP, GaP, GaSb, and GaN.

12. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 1, wherein the optical gain in the semiconductor laser chip is provided by bulk active region.

13. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 1, wherein the optical gain in the semiconductor laser chip is provided by a single quantum well active layer or by multiple quantum well active layers.

14. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 1, wherein the optical gain in the semiconductor laser chip is provided by a single layer or by multiple layers of quantum dots in the active region of the epitaxial structure.

15. The atomic force microscopy optical probe of claim 1, wherein the epitaxial structure of the semiconductor laser chip is that of quantum cascade semiconductor laser.

16. A method for virus detection and identification, the method comprising: providing a semiconductor-laser-integrated silicon or silicon nitride atomic force microscopy optical probe comprising a semiconductor laser chip providing a gain medium section, a silicon or silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe, and a photodetector, all integrated into a single chip; mounting the semiconductor-laser-integrated silicon or silicon nitride atomic force microscopy optical probe on an atomic force microscopy system; applying a direct current bias to the semiconductor laser chip such that the laser light power delivered to the tip apex of the probe is sufficient to do tip-enhanced Raman scattering or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements; applying reverse voltage bias to the photodetector; performing a tip-enhanced Raman scattering measurement or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurement on a single virus particle.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is a two-section device divided into electrically isolated gain section and saturable absorber section to allow ultrafast pulse generation, and the saturable absorber section is used as a photodetector for intracavity light detection in the near-field scanning optical microscopy measurement.

18. A method for DNA/RNA sequencing, the method comprising: providing a semiconductor-laser-integrated silicon or silicon nitride atomic force microscopy optical probe comprising a semiconductor laser chip providing a gain medium section, a silicon or silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe, and a photodetector, all integrated into a single chip; mounting the semiconductor-laser-integrated silicon or silicon nitride atomic force microscopy optical probe on an atomic force microscopy system; applying a direct current bias to the semiconductor laser chip such that the laser light power delivered to the tip apex of the probe is sufficient to do tip-enhanced Raman scattering or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements; applying reverse voltage bias to the photodetector; performing a tip-enhanced Raman scattering measurement or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurement on a single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA, or RNA molecules, stretched and attached to a fixed surface at both ends, by way of base-to-base readout necessary for DNA/RNA sequencing.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the semiconductor laser chip is a two-section device divided into electrically isolated gain section and saturable absorber section to allow ultrafast pulse generation, and the saturable absorber section is used as a photodetector for intracavity light detection in the near-field scanning optical microscopy measurement.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional illustration of the semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0013] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a three-section semiconductor laser device divided into an electrically isolated gain section and two parallel absorber sections on both sides of the gain section.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional illustration of the semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional illustration of the semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional illustration of the semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept according to Embodiment 2 of the invention.

[0017] FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional illustration of the semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept according to Embodiment 2 of the invention.

[0018] FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional illustration of the semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept according to Embodiment 2 of the invention.

[0019] FIG. 8 is a top view of a semiconductor laser chip bonded to a silicon probe.

[0020] FIG. 9 is a side view and SEM image of a semiconductor laser chip bonded to a silicon probe.

[0021] FIG. 10 is an illustration of optical spectrum of a silicon-integrated laser source, measured using the light scattered from the probe tip.

[0022] FIG. 11 is an illustration of the results of near-field optical testing of a silicon-integrated AFM optical probe.

[0023] FIG. 12 is an illustration of the results of experimental measurement of the laser beam divergence.

[0024] FIG. 13 is an illustration of a two-section semiconductor laser device divided into electrically isolated gain section and saturable absorber section to allow ultrafast pulse generation capability according to Embodiment 3 of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The semiconductor-laser-integrated AOP concept is based on integrating a semiconductor laser source into a cantilevered silicon AFM probe. Some preferred embodiments of the invention will be described below in detail based on the drawings.

Embodiment 1

[0026] In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 1), a semiconductor laser chip 10 is bonded directly to the top surface of the base 11 of a commercial AFM probe in front of the cantilever 12 without any prior probe modification (no pit receptor site etching into the base of the probe). The active region of the laser chip is aligned with the probe tip 13, so that the free propagating light 14 from the integrated laser source can be used to illuminate the probe tip and carry out AFM, NSOM, and TERS measurements. To prevent strong divergence of the free propagating laser light, the silicon-integrated laser chip 10 can be fabricated from a specially designed semiconductor laser epitaxial structure with significantly improved divergence along the fast axis (across the epitaxial layers). This special design of the laser epitaxial structure is expected to radically improve delivery of the laser light to the probe tip. In particular, the longitudinal photonic band crystal (PBC) waveguide design can be used [30-34]. The longitudinal PBC design demonstrates a vertical divergence angle less than 10 degrees full width at half maximum (FWHM). An example of such design is given in [32].

[0027] To allow light detection capability, the silicon-integrated semiconductor laser chip can be processed into a three-section device 15 divided into an electrically isolated gain section 16 and two parallel absorber sections 17 on both sides of the gain section (FIG. 2). Electrical isolation between the gain and absorber sections is achieved by using deep etching through the active layer 18 to remove any layers in the gap regions 19. The absorber sections can be used as an efficient integrated photodetector (PD). The voltages of proper polarity and magnitude are applied to the gain and PD sections to achieve laser generation in the gain section and light detection in the PD sections.

[0028] Alternatively, a second semiconductor laser chip 20 with the same epitaxial structure is bonded directly to the top surface of the base 11 of a commercial AFM probe alongside the first semiconductor laser chip 10 (FIG. 3). The active region of the second laser chip is aligned with the probe tip 13, so that the light 21 scattered from the probe tip is coupled back into the active region of the second laser chip. The voltage of proper polarity and magnitude is applied to the active region of the second semiconductor laser chip to achieve detection of the scattered light.

[0029] The first and second semiconductor laser chips, in their turn, can be fabricated as vertically integrated stacks (22, 23) of two or more semiconductor laser chips with different epitaxial structures corresponding to different emission wavelengths (FIG. 4). The first and second semiconductor laser chips of stacked geometry are supplied with the voltages of proper polarity and magnitude to achieve laser generation and light detection at multiple wavelengths, in the first and second semiconductor laser chips, respectively.

Embodiment 2

[0030] In another illustrative embodiment of the present invention (FIG. 5), a semiconductor laser chip 10 is buried in the base 11 of a commercially available silicon AFM probe in front of the cantilever 12. The active region of the laser chip is aligned with the probe tip 13 to efficiently deliver the free propagating laser light 14 to the probe tip. The semiconductor laser chip is metal-bonded within etched pit receptor site 24 inside the base of the silicon AFM probe in such a way that the active region of the laser chip is above the top surface of the base, and the emitted laser light can propagate freely in air to illuminate the probe tip and allow AFM, NSOM, and TERS measurements. To prevent strong divergence of the free propagating laser light and radically improve delivery of the laser light to the probe tip, the silicon-integrated laser chip 10 can be fabricated from a specially designed semiconductor laser epitaxial structure with significantly improved divergence along the fast axis (across the epitaxial layers). In particular, the PBC-waveguide design of the laser epitaxial structure can be used.

[0031] To allow light detection capability, the silicon-integrated semiconductor laser chip can be processed into a three-section device 15 divided into an electrically isolated gain section 16 and two parallel absorber sections 17 on both sides of the gain section (FIG. 2). Electrical isolation between the gain and absorber sections is achieved by using deep etching through the active layer 18 to remove any layers in the gap regions 19. The absorber sections can be used as an efficient integrated photodetector (PD). The voltages of proper polarity and magnitude are applied to the gain and PD sections to achieve laser generation in the gain section and light detection in the PD sections.

[0032] Alternatively, a second semiconductor laser chip 20 with the same epitaxial structure is buried in the base 11 of a commercially available silicon AFM probe in front of the cantilever 12 alongside the first semiconductor laser chip 10 (FIG. 6). The active region of the second laser chip is aligned with the probe tip 13, so that the light 21 scattered from the probe tip is coupled back into the active region of the second laser chip. The voltage of proper polarity and magnitude is applied to the active region of the second semiconductor laser chip to achieve detection of the scattered light.

[0033] The first and second semiconductor laser chips, in their turn, can be fabricated as vertically integrated stacks (22, 23) of two or more semiconductor laser chips with different epitaxial structures corresponding to different emission wavelengths (FIG. 7). The first and second semiconductor laser chips of stacked geometry are supplied with the voltages of proper polarity and magnitude to achieve laser generation and light detection at multiple wavelengths, in the first and second semiconductor laser chips, respectively.

[0034] FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example of a silicon-integrated AFM optical probe [35]. Using lithography and ICP dry etching, a standard silicon AFM probe 24 was patterned and etched to a depth of 150 μm to accommodate a thick PBC-waveguide laser chip 25. FIG. 8 shows the laser chip bonded to the silicon probe with indium. The top view shows the laser light 26 at the output facet of the laser and scattered light 27 at the tip. FIG. 9 also shows the side view and SEM image of the silicon-integrated AFM optical probe. FIG. 10 shows the optical spectrum of the silicon-integrated laser source, measured using the light scattered from the probe tip. The results of near-field optical testing of the silicon-integrated AFM optical probe are presented in FIG. 11. FIG. 12 summarizes the results of an experimental measurement of the laser beam divergence. The transverse size of the laser beam is measured directly on the laser output facet and 1.3 mm away from the output facet.

Embodiment 3

[0035] Combining AFM probe with ultrafast near-field light source allows one to simultaneously achieve single-molecule spatial resolution and subpicosecond time resolution. The best way to achieve ultrafast laser pulse generation is to employ a passive mode-locking technique by dividing the laser cavity into two sections—a longer gain section and a shorter saturable absorber section. The gain section is forward biased, while the saturable absorber section is reverse biased. Electrical isolation between these two sections is achieved by using shallow dry etching to remove the heavily doped layers in the gap region.

[0036] Another illustrative embodiment of the present invention is similar to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, except that the semiconductor laser chip is a two-section device 28 divided into electrically isolated gain section 29 and saturable absorber section 30 to allow ultrafast pulse generation capability (FIG. 13). The epitaxial gain material piece is either metal-bonded directly to the top surface of the base of a commercial AFM probe or metal-bonded to the silicon substrate within a pre-etched pit receptor site inside the base of the probe and then processed into the two-section laser chip. Electrical isolation between the gain and absorber sections is achieved by using shallow dry etching to remove any heavily doped layers in the gap region 31 that does not penetrate the active region 32. The saturable absorber section can be used as an efficient intracavity high-speed photodetector (PD). The voltages of proper polarity and magnitude are applied to the gain and absorber/PD sections to achieve mode locking and intracavity light detection.

Method Embodiment for Virus Detection Using AOP

[0037] A method embodiment of the invention provides a method of virus detection and identification using AOP. The method embodiment includes the steps of providing a semiconductor-laser-integrated atomic force microscopy optical probe comprising a semiconductor laser chip providing a gain medium section, a silicon cantilever atomic force microscopy probe, and a photodetector, all integrated into a single chip; mounting the semiconductor-laser-integrated atomic force microscopy optical probe on an atomic force microscopy system; applying a direct current bias to the semiconductor laser chip such that the laser light power delivered to the tip apex of the probe is sufficient to do tip-enhanced Raman scattering or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements; applying reverse voltage bias to the photodetector; and performing a tip-enhanced Raman scattering measurement or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurement on a single virus particle.

Method Embodiment for DNA/RNA Sequencing Using AOP

[0038] A method embodiment of the invention provides a method of DNA/RNA sequencing using AOP. The method embodiment includes the steps of providing a semiconductor-laser-integrated atomic force microscopy optical probe comprising a semiconductor laser chip providing a gain medium section, a silicon cantilever atomic force microscopy probe, and a photodetector, all integrated into a single chip; mounting the semiconductor-laser-integrated atomic force microscopy optical probe on an atomic force microscopy system; applying a direct current bias to the semiconductor laser chip such that the laser light power delivered to the tip apex of the probe is sufficient to do tip-enhanced Raman scattering or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurements; applying reverse voltage bias to the photodetector; and performing a tip-enhanced Raman scattering measurement or near-field scanning optical microscopy measurement on a single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA, or RNA molecules, stretched and attached to a fixed surface at both ends, by way of base-to-base readout necessary for DNA/RNA sequencing.

[0039] In all embodiments, the semiconductor laser chip can be based on one of the following semiconductor materials: GaAs, InP, GaP, GaSb, and GaN.

[0040] In all embodiments, the optical gain in the silicon-integrated laser chip can be provided by bulk active region, by single or multiple quantum well active layers, or by a single or multiple layers of quantum dots in the active region of the epitaxial structure. The epitaxial structure of the laser chip can be that of quantum cascade semiconductor laser.

[0041] In all embodiments, the silicon cantilever atomic force microscopy probe used for integration with the semiconductor laser chip can alternatively be a silicon nitride cantilever atomic force microscopy probe.

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