Cornell University

Alejandro Cortese

Paul McEuen

Alyosha C Molnar

Jonathan S Alden

Arthur Barnard

Sunwoo Lee

Jesse H Goldberg

Teja Pratap Bollu

The technology disclosed in this patent document can be used to construct devices with opto-electronic circuitry for sensing and identification applications, to provide untethered devices for deployment in living objects and other applications, and to provide fabrication techniques for making such devices for commercial production. As illustrated by specific examples disclosed herein, the disclosed technology can be implemented to provide fabrication methods, substrates, and devices that enable wireless, inorganic cell-scaled sensor and identification systems that are optically-powered and optically-readout.

Wireless, optically-powered optoelectronic sensors

A nanopore-containing substrate includes a substrate, a membrane on the substrate, and at least one nanoscale electronic element disposed on or embedded in the membrane. The membrane defines at least one nanopore. The nanoscale electronic element is aligned with one of the nanopores such that a shortest distance between an edge of the nanoscale electronic element and the edge of the nanopore is less than 50 nm. The nanopores may be formed by etching through a dielectric layer using a solution while applying a voltage to the nanoscale electronic element relative to the solution. The nanopore-containing substrate can be used to detect or sequence a biopolymer, such as a nucleic acid. The nanopore-containing substrate may be used with a biopolymer detection and/or sequencing system.

Nanopore-containing substrates with aligned nanoscale electronic elements and methods of making and using same

The technology disclosed can be implemented to construct devices with an array of optical elements to provide power to stimulate a biological process in a nerve system in living objects, and to provide patterned light outputs from the array of optical elements to indicate a corresponding electrical pattern monitored from the biological process in the nerve system. In one aspect a nerve stimulator apparatus is disclosed including a plurality of optical to electrical transducers arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein each of the plurality of optical to electrical transducers is configured to convert light to an electrical signal; a plurality of electrodes, each electrode associated with one or more associated optical to electrical transducers; and a plurality of electrical interconnects to connect each of the plurality of electrodes to the one or more associated optical transducers. In another aspect nerve sensor apparatus is disclosed including a plurality of optical to electrical transducers; a plurality of optical sources; a plurality of electrodes, each electrode associated with one or more optical to electrical transducers, each optical source configured to modulate light output according to a voltage at one of the plurality of electrodes; and a plurality of electrical interconnects.

Optical relay station-based implantable sensor modules

Growing community of inventors

Ithaca, NY, United States of America

Alejandro Cortese