Simulation, modelling, and characterization of a novel surface-sensitive biosensor

Research in life sciences and pharmaceuticals relies heavily on the rapid, low-cost, and sensitive detection of biological molecules in biological samples. Applications range from disease screening to the development of new therapeutical compounds, among others. At Imec, we have conceptualized a novel surface-sensitive fluorescence sensor to measure the presence of proteins in biological samples in only a few minutes compared to the longer times (up to several hours) required by more traditional biosensors. Our sensor is based on supercritical angle fluorescence (SAF) which allows the collection of fluorescence emitted by surface-bound biomolecules with high sensitivity, even within the presence of high bulk fluorophore concentrations. Moreover, the sensor has been designed to be highly multiplexable, affordable, and mass manufacturable.

In this thesis, you will assist the team that is developing the sensor to gain a better understanding of the functioning and performance of the device by performing the following activities:

• Run simulations to understand the coupling of SAF light into the slab mode of a waveguide.
• Design chirped interference filters to scatter out broadband fluorescence emission and study their performance at non-normal incidence angles.
• Develop a system model in Python to calculate the signal and noise components of the complete system.

Specifically, during the thesis you will

• Learn about surface-sensitive biosensors and their various implementations.
• Learn to simulate photonic structures on programs such as Lumerical FDTD.
• Gain a theoretical understanding of waveguide and SAF sensing technology and its applications in the field of biosensing.
• Potentially perform immunoassays on such a device and compare against data from the models.