Biacore Ab

Ge Healthcare Bio-sciences Ab

General Electric Company

Pharmacia Biosensor Ab

Bengt Ivarsson

Stefan Sjolander

Mark Marshall Meyers

Esa Stenberg

Jonsson Ulf

Ralph Stanghlberg

A Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensor system comprising: a SPR sensor surface, an illumination unit arranged to direct a wedge shaped beam of light at a line shaped detection area on the SPR sensor surface transverse to the direction of propagation of light, and a detection unit with detection optics for directing light reflected from the SPR sensor surface onto a two-dimensional optical detector unit such that the angle of reflection is imaged along one dimension and the width of the detection area along the other, wherein the illumination unit is arranged to selectively direct the wedge shaped beam of light at two or more spaced apart line shaped detection areas on the SPR sensor surface transverse to the direction of propagation of light.

Surface plasmon resonance biosensor system

An optical detection system is provided for generating and detecting a beam of electromagnetic radiation having intensity. The optical detection system comprises a source for producing the beam of electromagnetic radiation; and a body, that is at least partially transparent and comprises an ATR-sensor layer on at least a portion of the body, having an entrance surface for the beam of electromagnetic radiation, an internally or externally reflective surface that reflects the beam transmitted through the entrance surface, and an exit surface through which the beam, reflected from the second surface, exits the transparent body. The optical detection system may further comprise a distribution device between the beam source and the body; wherein the distribution device redistributes the intensity of the beam from a non-uniform intensity distribution to a substantially uniform intensity distribution; and a detector that detects the beam of electromagnetic radiation exiting the body.

Optical sensor system and method of sensing

A method of examining thin layer structures on a surface for differences in respect of optical thickness, which method comprises the steps of: irradiating the surface with light so that the light is internally or externally reflected at the surface; imaging the reflected light on a first two-dimensional detector; sequentially or continuously scanning the incident angle and/or wavelength of the light over an angular and/or wavelength range; measuring the intensities of light reflected from different parts of the surface and impinging on different parts of the detector, at least a number of incident angles and/or wavelengths, the intensity of light reflected from each part of the surface for each angle and/or wavelength depending on the optical thickness of the thin layer structure thereon; and determining from the detected light intensities at the different light incident angles and/or wavelengths an optical thickness image of the thin layer structures on the surface. According to the invention, part of the light reflected at said surface is detected on a second detector to determine the incident angle or wavelength of the polarized light irradiating the surface. An apparatus for carrying out the method is also disclosed.

Analytical method and apparatus

A method of examining thin layer structures on a surface for differences in respect of optical thickness, which method comprises the steps of: irradiating the surface with light so that the light is internally or externally reflected at the surface; imaging the reflected light on a first two-dimensional detector; sequentially or continuously scanning the incident angle and/or wavelength of the light over an angular and/or wavelength range; measuring the intensities of light reflected from different parts of the surface and impinging on different parts of the detector, at at least a number of incident angles and/or wavelengths, the intensity of light reflected from each part of the surface for each angle and/or wavelength depending on the optical thickness of the thin layer structure thereon; and determining from the detected light intensities at the different light incident angles and/or wavelengths an optical thickness image of the thin layer structures on the surface. According to the invention, part of the light reflected at said surface is detected on a second detector to determine the incident angle or wavelength of the polarized light irradiating the surface. An apparatus for carrying out the method is also disclosed.

An optical apparatus for total internal reflection spectroscopy comprises: a transparent body having an internally reflective surface; at least one source of electromagnetic radiation for providing at least one beam of collimated electromagnetic radiation; optical scanning means for directing the beam or beams to the transparent body so that the radiation is internally reflected at the reflective surface, and sequentially or continuously scanning the incident angle of the radiation over an angular range; at least one detector for detecting electromagnetic radiation exiting the transparent body, and means for counteracting variation of the irradiance in the illuminated area of the surface during the angular scan, or the effect of such variation on the reflected beam or beams. An optical apparatus for examining thin layer structures on a surface for differences in respect of optical thickness and/or refractive index, and a method for total internal reflection spectroscopy are also disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Bälinge, Sweden

Bengt Ivarsson