Flexible Transient Optical Waveguides and Surface‐Wave Biosensors Constructed from Monocrystalline Silicon

Abstract

Optical technologies offer important capabilities in both biological research and clinical care. Recent interest is in implantable devices that provide intimate optical coupling to biological tissues for a finite time period and then undergo full bioresorption into benign products, thereby serving as temporary implants for diagnosis and/or therapy. The results presented here establish a silicon‐based, bioresorbable photonic platform that relies on thin filaments of monocrystalline silicon encapsulated by polymers as flexible, transient optical waveguides for accurate light delivery and sensing at targeted sites in biological systems. Comprehensive studies of the mechanical and optical properties associated with bending and unfurling the waveguides from wafer‐scale sources of materials establish general guidelines in fabrication and design. Monitoring biochemical species such as glucose and tracking physiological parameters such as oxygen saturation using near‐infrared spectroscopic methods demonstrate modes of utility in biomedicine. These concepts provide versatile capabilities in biomedical diagnosis, therapy, deep‐tissue imaging, and surgery, and suggest a broad range of opportunities for silicon photonics in bioresorbable technologies.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 26, 2018
Source ID
10.1002/adma.201801584

Entities

People

  • Anlil Brikha
  • Chad R Haney
  • Chen Wei
  • Hao Chen
  • Hongjun Yang
  • Irawati Kandela
  • Jiho Shin
  • John A. Rogers
  • Paul V Braun
  • Quansan Yang
  • Seung‐kyun Kang
  • Weidong Zhou
  • Wubin Bai
  • Xiaochen Ge
  • Xue Feng
  • Yinji Ma
  • Yonggang Huang
  • Yonghao Liu
  • Zhonghe Liu

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • KAIST
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China
  • National Science Foundation
  • Northwestern University
  • Tsinghua University
  • University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
  • University of Texas at Arlington

Tags

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology
  • Trauma Surgery or Emergency Medicine.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology