A flow-through sensing platform based on open-ended porous silicon (PSi) microcavity membranes that are compatible with integration in on-chip sensor arrays is demonstrated. Because of the high aspect ratio of PSi nanopores, the performance of closed-ended PSi sensors is limited by infiltration challenges and slow sensor responses when detecting large molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. In order to improve molecule transport efficiency and reduce sensor response time, open-ended PSi nanopore membranes were used in a flow-through sensing scheme, allowing analyte solutions to pass through the nanopores. The molecular binding kinetics in these PSi membranes were compared through experiments and simulation with those from closed-ended PSi films of comparable thickness in a conventional flow-over sensing scheme. The flow-through PSi membrane resulted in a 6-fold improvement in sensor response time when detecting a high molecular weight analyte (streptavidin) versus in the flow-over PSi approach. This work demonstrates the possibility of integrating multiple flow-through PSi sensor membranes within parallel microarrays for rapid and multiplexed label-free biosensing.

Highly sensitive dual‐mode labeled detection of biotin in well‐characterized porous silicon (PSi) films using colloidal quantum dots (QDs) as signal amplifiers are demonstrated. Optimization of the PSi platform for targeted QD infiltration and immobilization is carried out by characterizing and tuning the porosity, film depth, and pore size. Binding events of target QD‐biotin conjugates with streptavidin probes immobilized on the pore walls are monitored by reflective interferometric spectroscopy and fluorescence measurements. QD labeling of the target biotin molecules enables detection based on a distinct fluorescent signal as well as a greater than 5‐fold enhancement in the measured spectral reflectance fringe shift and a nearly three order of magnitude improvement in the detection limit for only 6% surface area coverage of QDs inside the porous matrix. Utilizing the QD signal amplifiers, an exceptional biotin detection limit of ≈6 fg mm−2 is demonstrated with sub‐fg mm−2 detection limits achievable.

A label-free optical biosensor based on a one-dimensional photonic crystal microring resonator with enhanced light-matter interaction is demonstrated. More than a 2-fold improvement in volumetric and surface sensing sensitivity is achieved compared to conventional microring sensors. The experimental bulk detection sensitivity is ~248nm/RIU and label-free detection of DNA and proteins is reported at the nanomolar scale. With a minimum feature size greater than 100nm, the photonic crystal microring resonator biosensor can be fabricated with the same standard lithographic techniques used to mass fabricate conventional microring resonators.

Efficient mass transport through porous networks is essential for achieving rapid response times in sensing applications utilizing porous materials. In this work, we show that open-ended porous membranes can overcome diffusion challenges experienced by closed-ended porous materials in a microfluidic environment. A theoretical model including both transport and reaction kinetics is employed to study the influence of flow velocity, bulk analyte concentration, analyte diffusivity, and adsorption rate on the performance of open-ended and closed-ended porous sensors integrated with flow cells. The analysis shows that open-ended pores enable analyte flow through the pores and greatly reduce the response time and analyte consumption for detecting large molecules with slow diffusivities compared with closed-ended pores for which analytes largely flow over the pores. Experimental confirmation of the results was carried out with open- and closed-ended porous silicon (PSi) microcavities fabricated in flow-through and flow-over sensor configurations, respectively. The adsorption behavior of small analytes onto the inner surfaces of closed-ended and open-ended PSi membrane microcavities was similar. However, for large analytes, PSi membranes in a flow-through scheme showed significant improvement in response times due to more efficient convective transport of analytes. The experimental results and theoretical analysis provide quantitative estimates of the benefits offered by open-ended porous membranes for different analyte systems.

We aim to utilize the high surface area of a porous silicon (PSi) matrix coupled with semiconductor quantum dot (QD) amplifiers for ultrasensitive optical detection of small biomolecules using a dual-mode detection scheme. In our system, QDs attached to the target biomolecule serve as signal amplifiers by providing an additional refractive index increase beyond that of the smaller target molecules. The strong photoluminescence (PL) from the QDs serves as a secondary indication of target molecule attachment in the pores. A resulting increase in optical thickness of ~190 nm and detection sensitivity of ~700 nm/RIU have been demonstrated for attachment of glutathione capped CdTe QDs in the porous silicon matrix. Reflectance and PL measurements, combined with simulations, have been used to characterize the surface area coverage of the QDs within the porous framework, which is estimated at 10% for glutathione capped CdTe QDs.