Waveguide Grating Based Biosensors Fabricated by Direct Laser Interface Patterning

Resonant waveguide gratings (RWG) are integrated optical (IO) biosensor elements for label-free detection of biomolecular interactions in real time. State of the art RWGs are fabricated on glass substrates by photolithography and etching processes. However, these production techniques are too costly for most application fields e.g. human and veterinary diagnostics, environmental monitoring, etc. In this project a new process based on direct laser interference pattering (DLIP) on polymer substrates will be investigated for structuring the grating. With such a scalable new production technique, the production costs for the sensor chips could be significantly reduced, which is broadening the application field of integrated optical sensors e.g., for point of care (POC) diagnostics with single used (disposable) sensor elements.