Tunable laser cavity sensor chip

Details Tunable laser cavity sensor chip Tunable laser cavity sensor chip

2001-06-20

2004-07-27

Warden, Jill (Department: 1743)

Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser

Chemical reactor

Pigment or carbon black producer

C422S051000, C422S051000, C422S051000, C422S068100, C422S082010, C422S082020, C422S082050, C422S082060, C422S082110

Reexamination Certificate

active

06767515

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to laser sensors using heterodyned laser light.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, lasers have been put to use in molecular diagnostics. Robert Frankel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,458 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) describes a system for biomolecular separation and detection of a molecular species that uses a solid state laser detector formed with a sample channel. The presence of a molecular species is indicated by a frequency shift in the laser's output which is detected by optical heterodyning the laser's output with the output of a reference laser. The interior of the sample channel can, optionally, be coated with a ligand for binding a molecular species of interest. The system involves rather complex preprocessing of the sample by electro-osmotic separation in channels that are lithographically formed in a two dimensional planar substrate and/or by a nanostructural molecular sieve formed of spaced apart posts defining narrow channels. Although an at tempt at integrated system is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,458, it does not entirely provide a fully integrated optical chip device.
Also recently, highly coherent semiconductor lasers and laser arrays have been developed primarily for telecommunications applications. See for example C. E. Zah et al., IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett., vol. 8, pp 864-866, July, 1996. In addition, widely tunable semiconductor lasers have been developed, in particular, sampled-grating distributed Bagg reflector (SGDBR) lasers. See, for example “Tunable Sampled-Grading DBR Lasers with Integrated Wavelength Monitors,” by B. Mason et al.,
IEEE Photonics Technology Letters
, Vol. 10, No. 8 August 1998; 1085-1087 and “Ridge Waveguide Sampled Grating DBR Lasers with 22-nm Quasi-Continuous Tuning Range,” by B. Mason et al.,
IEEE Photonics Technology Letters
, Vol. 10, No. 9 September 1998, 1211-1213. These widely tunable lasers are based on the use of two multi-element mirrors as described in Coldren U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,325. The former also includes a Y-branch splitter with a detector in each branch for wavelength determination. Disclosures of the foregoing three publications and Coldren U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,325 are incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an optical chip device usable for molecular diagnostics, what I call a tunable laser cavity sensor (TLCS). The TLCS is formed from a reference laser and a sensor laser, each comprising a waveguide having a gain section, a partially transmissive mirror section, and a coherent light beam output section, one or both of the waveguides having a phase control section. The light beam output sections of the reference and sensor lasers are joined to enable the coherent light from these sections to interfere, providing a heterodyned frequency. The sensor laser has a thinned waveguide region exposing evanescent field material to form a cavity and which detects the presence of a molecule by a heterodyned frequency shift.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4896325 (1990-01-01), Coldren
patent: 5637458 (1997-06-01), Frankel et al.
patent: PCT/EP99/00401 (1999-07-01), None
Beregovski, Y. et al, “Design and Characteristics of DBR-laser-based environmental sensors”, Sensors and Actuators B, Elsevier Sequoia S.A., Lausanne, CH, vol. 523, No. 1-2, Nov. 26, 1998, pp. 116-124, XP004151882.
Page 117, left-hand column, last paragraph—right-hand column, paragraph 2 p. 118, right-hand column, line 14—line 25 figure 1.
Hennig O, et al, “Distributed Bragg reflector laser-based sensor for chemical detection” Optics Communications, North-Holland Publishing Co. Amsterdam, NL, vol. 156, No. 4-6, Nov. 15, 1998 pp. 311-315, XP004143080.
Mason, B. et al. “Tunable Sampled-Grating DBR Lasers with Integrated Wavelength Monitors.”IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 10, No. 8(Aug. 1998), pp. 1085-1087.
Mason, B. et al. “Ridge Waveguide Sampled Grating DBR Lasers with 22-nm Quasi-Continuous Tuning Range.”IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 10, No. 9(Sep. 1998), pp. 1211-1213.
Meinhart, C.D. et al, “PIV measurements of a microchannel flow.” Experiments in Fluids 27, (1999), pp. 414-419.

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