Photonic integrated circuits for life sciences
Abstract
We report on the use of silicon nitride (SiN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) in high-value instrumentation, namely multi-color laser engines (MLEs), a core element of cutting-edge biophotonic systems applied to confocal microscopy, fluorescent microscopy - including super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy - flow cytometry, optogenetics, genetic analysis and DNA sequencing, to name just a few. These have in common the selective optical excitation of molecules - fluorophores, or, in the case of optogenetics, light-gated ion channels - with laser radiation falling within their absorption spectrum. Unambiguous identification of molecules or cellular subsets often requires jointly analyzing fluorescent signals from several fluorescent markers, so that MLEs are required to provide excitation wavelengths for several commercially available biocompatible fluorophores. A number of functionalities are required from MLEs in addition to sourcing the required wavelengths: Variable attenuation and/or digital intensity modulation in the Hz to kHz range are required for a number of applications such as optical trapping, lifetime imaging, or fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Moreover, switching of the laser between two fiber outputs can be utilized for example to switch between scanning confocal microscopy and widefield illumination modes, for instance, for conventional fluorescence imaging.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2101.05368,
title = {Photonic integrated circuits for life sciences},
author = {Jeremy Witzens and Patrick Leisching and Alireza T. Mashayekh and Thomas Klos and Sina Koch and Florian Merget and Douwe Geuzebroek and Edwin Klein and Theo Veenstra and Ronald Dekker},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2101.05368},
year = {2021}
}