Bioelectronic photosensing array for non-planar imaging

Abstract

Bioelectronic photosensor arrays are hybrid devices where light-sensitive biological molecules are interfaced with microelectronic circuitry. In this paper, a mechanically bendable multi-pixel photosensor array that exploits the light transduction properties of thin bacteriorhodopsin (bR) films is described. The photo sensitive protein is immobilized on a flexible plastic substrate coated with a patterned indium-tin-oxide (ITO) microelectrode array. The thin bR film responds to light intensities over a wide spectral range with a peak response at 568nm. The photovoltage generated by the thin bR film remains approximately linear for a variety of wavelengths and over the light power range of 200μW to 12mW. By fabricating patterned photo sensor arrays on bendable plastic substrates it is possible to develop a variety of specialized non-planar imaging technologies. The design and development of a prototype cylindrical bR sensor array for a panoramic camera that detects movement in a wide 180° field-of-view is briefly described. Several key design challenges are identified and discussed.