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Flexible Transient Optical Waveguides and Surface‐Wave Biosensors Constructed from Monocrystalline Silicon
Author(s) -
Bai Wubin,
Yang Hongjun,
Ma Yinji,
Chen Hao,
Shin Jiho,
Liu Yonghao,
Yang Quansan,
Kandela Irawati,
Liu Zhonghe,
Kang SeungKyun,
Wei Chen,
Haney Chad R.,
Brikha Anlil,
Ge Xiaochen,
Feng Xue,
Braun Paul V.,
Huang Yonggang,
Zhou Weidong,
Rogers John A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201801584
Subject(s) - materials science , monocrystalline silicon , silicon photonics , optofluidics , nanotechnology , silicon , photonics , wafer , biosensor , optoelectronics , fabrication , microfluidics , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Optical technologies offer important capabilities in both biological research and clinical care. Recent interest is in implantable devices that provide intimate optical coupling to biological tissues for a finite time period and then undergo full bioresorption into benign products, thereby serving as temporary implants for diagnosis and/or therapy. The results presented here establish a silicon‐based, bioresorbable photonic platform that relies on thin filaments of monocrystalline silicon encapsulated by polymers as flexible, transient optical waveguides for accurate light delivery and sensing at targeted sites in biological systems. Comprehensive studies of the mechanical and optical properties associated with bending and unfurling the waveguides from wafer‐scale sources of materials establish general guidelines in fabrication and design. Monitoring biochemical species such as glucose and tracking physiological parameters such as oxygen saturation using near‐infrared spectroscopic methods demonstrate modes of utility in biomedicine. These concepts provide versatile capabilities in biomedical diagnosis, therapy, deep‐tissue imaging, and surgery, and suggest a broad range of opportunities for silicon photonics in bioresorbable technologies.