University of Washington

Scott Karlson

Sinclair S Yee

Ralph C Jorgenson

Kyle Johnston

The present invention provides SPR sensors in which the sensing element is a planar lightpipe. The sensors of this invention include configurations which employ multiwavelength light incident on the SPR sensing area at a single angle or at a range of angles. Sensors of this invention also include configurations that employ monochromatic light at a range of angles. Many of the configurations of the SPR lightpipe sensors of this invention involve imaging of input light through the lightpipe. In one embodiment, the invention provides a first order SPR sensor system in which the sensing element is a planar lightpipe. Light coupled into the lightpipe reflects off an SPR sensing area positioned on an external surface planar surface of the lightpipe. Multiwavelength light that is coupled into the lightpipe input face at a range of angles propagates through the lightpipe by total internal reflection (TIR), making multiple reflections, and exits in a series of angular bands each containing spectral information (including SPR features)for a small range of incidence angles. A detector or detectors are positioned to measure the reflection spectrum, including any surface plasmon resonance feature, of one or preferably more than one of the angular bands exiting the lightpipe. SPR sensor configurations include those that have multiple sensing channels and those which can be multiplexed. This invention provides SPR sensors with planar lightpipe sensing elements and method of detecting analytes in samples using these sensors. The invention also provides planar lightpipe that have a plurality of SPR sensing layers on a planar surface.

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Mountlake Terrace, WA, United States of America

Scott Karlson