Sensitive, Selective, and Affordable Chemical Threat Sensing Using Frequency Locked Microtoroid Optical Resonators
Abstract
Microtoroidal whispering gallery mode resonators have inherently high sensitivity due to their long photon confinement time and as such have great potential as sensitive chemical sensors. We have recently developed a label-free biological and chemical sensing system known as a frequency locked optical whispering evanescent resonator (FLOWER)1 that integrates microtoroid optical resonators with frequency locking feedback control, auto-balanced detection, and data processing techniques to aid the suppression of noise. Having demonstrated FLOWER capable of highly sensitive, single macromolecule, biological detection, we now propose adapting it for highly sensitive chemical threat sensing. Along these lines, we propose, as part of Thrust Area 7 – Topic G18, (1) making FLOWER selective for chemical threat agents of interest using absorptive polymer coatings, (2) using rationally designed and precisely positioned coupled nanophotonic particles to further improve sensitivity while minimizing scattering and absorption loss, and (3) improving the availability and affordability of the approach by developing robust and stable optical coupling approaches and electronic controls so that the system can be compact, multiplexed, and low cost.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 16, 2019
- Source ID
- HDTRA11810044
Entities
People
- Judith Su
Organizations
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
- University of Arizona