A Compact Tunable VCSEL and a Built-in Wavelength Meter for a Portable Optical Resonant Reflection Biosensor Reader

Abstract

This study reports a portable and precision photonic biosensor reader that can measure the concentration of a particular antigen using an optical resonant reflection biosensor (ORRB). To create a compact biosensor reader, a compact tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and a compact built-in wavelength meter were manufactured. The wavelength stability and accuracy of the compact built-in wavelength meter were measured to be less than 0.02 nm and 0.06 nm, respectively. The tunable VCSEL emission wavelength was measured with the compact built-in wavelength meter, it has a fast sweep time (~ 10 seconds) and a wide tuning range (> 4 nm) that are sufficient for biosensor applications based on ORRB. The reflection spectrum of a plastic based ORRB chip was measured by the fabricated portable photonic biosensor reader using the VCSEL and wavelength meter. Although the reader is the size of a palmtop device, it could make a precise measurement of the peak wavelength on equal terms with a conventional bulky optical spectrometer.