Near-Field Optical Device for Bioimaging and Sensing
Purdue University researchers have developed a tunable super-lens (TSL) for nanoscale optical sensing and imaging of biomolecules and nanomanufacturing utilizing negative-index materials (NlMs) that operate in the visible or near infrared light. The resulting lens will perform subwavelength imaging, enhanced resolution imaging, or flat lens imaging. In particular, a frequency-controllable near field TSL can be arranged of a metal-dielectric film having an upper surface and a lower surface, a layer of a semiconductor medium bonded to the upper surface, and a layer of a semiconductor medium bonded to the lower surface. The semiconductor film (or a metal-dielectric film) can be made of Ag-Si02 composite, Si or SiC. Additional surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate can be bonded to an outer surface of a first of the layers of the semiconductor medium. The TSL can be further equipped with a microfluidic channel.
No undesirable molecule modification in SERSMolecules remain intact in SERS
Surface-enhanced remote sensing of biomolecules using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)Detection of modification in spectra caused by the binding event using (SERS)
Vladimir ShalaevPurdue Electrical and Computer Engineering
United States
8,599,489
USA

