In situ assembled diffraction grating for biomolecular detection

Chun-Li Chang, Purdue University
Ghanashyam Acharya, Purdue University
Cagri Savran, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University

Abstract

The authors report experiments with a diffraction-based biosensor based on self-assembly of target-containing nanobeads that form optical diffraction gratings. They demonstrate that the diffraction signal is a function of the bead size, and that noise is minimized by normalizing the intensities of the diffraction modes. They characterize the dependence of the diffraction signal on equivalent bead size and demonstrate the potential of the scheme in detecting biologically significant molecules.