Plasmonic Layer as a Localized Temperature Control Element for Surface Plasmonic Resonance-Based Sensors.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing is a well-established high-sensitivity, label-free and real-time detection technique for biomolecular interaction study. Its primary working principle consists of the measurement of the optical refractive index of the medium that is in close vicinity of the sensor surface. Bio-functionalization techniques allow biomolecular events to be located in such a way. Since optical refractive indices of any medium varies with the temperature, the place where the measurement takes place shall be within a temperature-controlled environment in order to ensure any temperature fluctuation is interpreted as a biomolecular event. Since the SPR measurement probes the sensed medium within the penetration depth of the plasmonic wave, which is less or in the order of 1 µm, we propose to use the metallic film constituting the detection surface as a localized heater aiming at controlling finely and quickly the temperature of the sensed medium. The Joule heating principle is then used and the modeling of the heater is reported as well as its validation by thermal IR imaging. Using water as a demonstration medium, SPR measurement results at different temperatures are successfully compared to the theoretical optical refractive index of water versus temperature.

Recent advances in the development of graphene-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) interfaces.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a powerful technique for measurement of biomolecular interactions in real-time in a label-free environment. One of the most common techniques for plasmon excitation is the Kretschmann configuration, and numerous studies of ligand-analyte interactions have been performed on surfaces functionalized with a variety of biomolecules, for example DNA, RNA, glycans, proteins, and peptides. A significant limitation of SPR is that the substrate must be a thin metal film. Post-coating of the metal thin film with a thin dielectric top layer has been reported to enhance the performance of the SPR sensor, but is highly dependent on the thickness of the upper layer and its dielectric constant. Graphene is a single-atom thin planar sheet of sp2 carbon atoms perfectly arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Graphene and graphene oxide are good supports for biomolecules because of their large surface area and rich π conjugation structure, making them suitable dielectric top layers for SPR sensing. In this paper, we review some of the key issues in the development of graphene-based SPR chips. The actual challenges of using these interfaces for studying biomolecular interactions will be discussed and the first examples of the use of graphene-on-metal SPR interfaces for biological sensing will be presented.

Dissection of the anti-Candida albicans mannan immune response using synthetic oligomannosides reveals unique properties of ß-1,2 mannotriose protective epitopes.

Candida albicans mannan consists of a large repertoire of oligomannosides with different types of mannose linkages and chain lengths, which act as individual epitopes with more or less overlapping antibody specificities. Although anti-C. albicans mannan antibody levels are monitored for diagnostic purposes nothing is known about the qualitative distribution of these antibodies in terms of epitope specificity. We addressed this question using a bank of previously synthesized biotin sulfone tagged oligomannosides (BSTOs) of α and ß anomery complemented with a synthetic ß-mannotriose described as a protective epitope. The reactivity of these BSTOs was analyzed with IgM isotype monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) of known specificity, polyclonal sera from patients colonized or infected with C. albicans, and mannose binding lectin (MBL). Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and multiple analyte profiling (MAP) were used. Both methods confirmed the usual reactivity of MAbs against either α or ß linkages, excepted for MAb B6.1 (protective epitope) reacting with ß-Man whereas the corresponding BSTO reacted with anti-α-Man. These results were confirmed in western blots with native C. albicans antigens. Using patients' sera in MAP, a significant correlation was observed between the detection of anti-mannan antibodies recognizing ß- and α-Man epitopes and detection of antibodies against ß-linked mannotriose suggesting that this epitope also reacts with human polyclonal antibodies of both specificities. By contrast, the reactivity of human sera with other α- and ß-linked BSTOs clearly differed according to their colonized or infected status. In these cases, the establishment of an α/ß ratio was extremely discriminant. Finally SPR with MBL, an important lectin of innate immunity to C. albicans, classically known to interact with α-mannose, also interacted in an unexpected way with the protective epitope. These cumulative data suggest that structure/activity investigations of the finely tuned C. albicans anti-mannose immune response are worthwhile to increase our basic knowledge and for translation in medicine.

3D Patterning of Si by Contact Etching With Nanoporous Metals.

Nanoporous gold and platinum electrodes are used to pattern n-type silicon by contact etching at the macroscopic scale. This type of electrode has the advantage of forming nanocontacts between silicon, the metal and the electrolyte as in classical metal assisted chemical etching while ensuring electrolyte transport to and from the interface through the electrode. Nanoporous gold electrodes with two types of nanostructures, fine and coarse (average ligament widths of ~30 and 100 nm, respectively) have been elaborated and tested. Patterns consisting in networks of square-based pyramids (10 × 10 µm2 base × 7 µm height) and U-shaped lines (2, 5, and 10 µm width × 10 µm height × 4 µm interspacing) are imprinted by both electrochemical and chemical (HF-H2O2) contact etching. A complete pattern transfer of pyramids is achieved with coarse nanoporous gold in both contact etching modes, at a rate of ~0.35 µm min-1. Under the same etching conditions, U-shaped line were only partially imprinted. The surface state after imprinting presents various defects such as craters, pores or porous silicon. Small walls are sometimes obtained due to imprinting of the details of the coarse gold nanostructure. We establish that np-Au electrodes can be turned into "np-Pt" electrodes by simply sputtering a thin platinum layer (5 nm) on the etching (catalytic) side of the electrode. Imprinting with np Au/Pt slightly improves the pattern transfer resolution. 2D numerical simulations of the valence band modulation at the Au/Si/electrolyte interfaces are carried out to explain the localized aspect of contact etching of n-type silicon with gold and platinum and the different surface state obtained after patterning. They show that n-type silicon in contact with gold or platinum is in inversion regime, with holes under the metal (within 3 nm). Etching under moderate anodic polarization corresponds to a quasi 2D hole transfer over a few nanometers in the inversion layer between adjacent metal and electrolyte contacts and is therefore very localized around metal contacts.

Potential of the polymer optical fibers deployed in a 10Gbps small office/home office network.

We have performed a detailed study of four Perfluorinated Graded Index Polymer Optical Fiber (50/490, 62.5/490 and 120/490) issued from several manufacturers and designed to be used in short length (100m) small office/home office network operating at 850nm. We have used commercially available 850nm low cost XFP transceivers and have compared the power dispersion penalties measurements with the ones realized using a photoreceiver including the Electronic Dispersion Compensation technology to increase the range of the transmission without impairments. It will be demonstrated the potential of the polymer fibers coupled to the electronic dispersion compensation technology to successfully transmit a 10GBase-SR signal with a Bit Error Rate of 10(-12) over 100m.

Tunable Surface Structuration of Silicon by Metal Assisted Chemical Etching with Pt Nanoparticles under Electrochemical Bias.

An in-depth study of metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) of p-type c-Si in HF/H2O2 aqueous solutions using Pt nanoparticles as catalysts is presented. Combination of cyclic voltammetry, open circuit measurements, chronoamperometry, impedance spectroscopy, and 2D band bending modeling of the metal/semiconductor/electrolyte interfaces at the nanoscale and under different etching conditions allows gaining physical insights into this system. Additionally, in an attempt to mimic the etching conditions, the modeling has been performed with a positively biased nanoparticle buried in the Si substrate. Following these findings, the application of an external polarization during etching is introduced as a novel efficient approach for achieving straightforward control of the pore morphology by acting upon the band bending at the Si/electrolyte junction. In this way, nanostructures ranging from straight mesopores to cone-shaped macropores are obtained as the Si sample is biased from negative to positive potentials. Remarkably, macroscopic cone-shaped pores in the 1-5 µm size range with a high aspect ratio (L/W ∼ 1.6) are obtained by this method. This morphology leads to a reduction of the surface reflectance below 5% over the entire VIS-NIR domain, which outperforms macrostructures made by state of the art texturization techniques for Si solar cells.

Ultracompact optical filter based on a stub resonator in GaInAsP/InP optical wire technology.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of a very compact filtering structure based on a resonant stub fabricated using optical wire technology in the InP material line. The stub length is close to 1.6 microm and has been designed to get a resonance wavelength close to 1550 nm. The characterization showed a resonance frequency at 1520 nm with a 12 dB resonance peak.

Wide electrical tunability of a GaInAsP/InP microdisk resonator.

We report on the characterization of an InP/InGaAsP-material-based microdisk resonator optical filter. The originality here is constituted by the use of a localized control electrode that is used for the tuning of the resonance wavelength of the filter via the injection of a driving current. Tuning of the resonance wavelength close to 8 nm has been experimentally achieved for a drive current of 80 mA.

Photonic devices based on preferential etching.

We introduce a design concept of optical waveguides characterized by a practical and reproducible process based on preferential etching of crystalline silicon substrates. Low-loss waveguides, spot-size converters, and power dividers have been obtained with polymers. We have also aligned liquid crystals in the waveguides and demonstrated guided propagation. Therefore this technology is a suitable platform for soft-matter photonics and heterogeneous integration.