Materials and microfabrication processes for ARROW-based optofluidic biosensors

Abstract

This paper outlines the microfabrication processes and materials used to make an optofluidic lab-on-a-chip biosensor that detects individual biological particles. The biosensor uses a hollow-core ARROW waveguide with a low refractive index liquid core and is fabricated on a silicon wafer using a combination of PECVD deposition, RIE etching, and standard photolithographic processes. As a sensing example, detection of fluorescence signals emitted by labeled oligonucleotides inside the liquid core was used to illustrate the chip's potential to identify protein-coding regions of the Zaire Ebola virus genome.