Towards Integrated Fluorescence Sensing

Abstract

This thesis is an account of ongoing efforts in the Integrated Biomorphic Information Systems Laboratory and the Laboratory for MicroTechnologies towards the implementation of integrated microfabricated biosensing platforms with on-chip fluorescence detection capability. The first chapter is a published, exhaustive, and critical review of state-of-the-art microfluorometers, and it offers a set of performance metrics for evaluating sensors of different architectures. The second chapter consists of material from two journal papers, currently in preparation, in which the development of a polymeric optical filter material for UV fluorescence spectroscopy is presented and its integration with a CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) discussed. The third chapter, which is also an archival publication, presents initial efforts towards achieving high-sensitivity CMOS photodetectors for photon counting-based fluorescence assays in integrated platforms.