Bench-top fluorescence emission signature analysis instruments are commonly used for environmental and biomedical diagnostics in counter-bioterrorism, DNA/protein identification and classification, agricultural sciences, and many other applications requiring excellent selectivity and sensitivity. Phoyonic crystal-based biosensors that operate within the visible spectrum are well suited to provide integrated optical sensing solutions that can be employed to increase the utility and portability of analytical instruments that perform fluorescence emission signature detection. The overall objective is to develop an integrated optofluidic biosensor that employs photonic crystals for resonance-enhanced fluorescence emission detection of single-molecule event signatures in the visible spectrum. By employing PhC point defects fabricated in a GaN photonic crystal slab waveguide as flow channels for analytes containing low concentrations of fluorescing molecules that are produced by upstream chemical and/or biochemical processes new environmental detectors will be produced. The geometry of the point defect flow channel fabricated within the 2-D air lattice will be engineered to act as an optical resonant cavity for fluorescent emission wavelengths, enhancing emission intensity up to 15x and a providing a bandpass filter with <2nm full width half maximum bandwidth, effective at rejecting most background fluorescence noise sources. The educational aspect of the proposed program addresses the 2007 American Competitiveness Initiative report that calls for increasing the number of STEM professionals to improve future American economic competitiveness. The proposed work will directly support one (1) postdoctoral researcher and (2) graduate students. Well-established undergraduate research programs, a central goal of which is to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities and women in nanoscience and engineering will be utilized to provide opportunities for undergraduate student involvement.
