NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging

Despite the current widespread use of silicon photonics, fiber coupling remains one of the principal challenges in mass production. Integrated microlens couplers (IMCs) have been demonstrated as an efficient, broadband, and polarization-insensitive method for wafer-scale fiber-to-chip coupling, with a previously achieved free-space coupling loss of 0.6 dB. In this project, our objective is to further optimize the performance of IMCs by addressing current sources of loss and fabrication limitations. Potential research directions include optimizing the waveguide for single-mode behavior,...

Access to affordable and user-friendly biosensors is crucial for advancing global healthcare. While lateral flow immunoassays have been the primary solution for decades, their limited sensitivity and suboptimal sample utilization present challenges. This project represents a systematic progression towards developing economically viable biosensors with heightened sensitivity, covering a range of diseases from viral infections to cancer. By integrating nanoplasmonics to induce visually perceptible signals and harnessing the coffee ring effect for protein pre-concentration, we achieved...

Successful treatment of cancer requires targeted and individualized treatment, and subsequently an assessment of the state of the tumor being examined, both gross and microscopic, however oncologists have no method of identifying microscopic tumor in the patient. This results in tumor cells being left behind in patients undergoing surgery. Currently, the only way to determine the presence of any microscopic residual is to examine the excised tumor, stained with a proper marker, under a microscope, which only adds to the complexity and length of the surgery and treatment. The two current...

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging sensors allow machines to perceive, map and interact with the surrounding world1. The size of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) devices is often limited by mechanical scanners. Focal plane array-based 3D sensors are promising candidates for solid-state LiDARs because they allow electronic scanning without mechanical moving parts. However, their resolutions have been limited to 512 pixels or smaller2. In this paper, we report on a 16,384-pixel LiDAR with a wide field of view (FoV, 70° × 70°), a fine addressing resolution (0.6° × 0.6°), a narrow beam...