Invention:
This technology utilizes optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) to collect high resolution temperature measurements in biochemical applications. More specifically, accuracy of measurements is increased in the spatial domain via the OFDR technology being studied in conjunction with whispering gallery mode biochemical sensing. While temperature measurements are currently investigated with a reported temperature uncertainty of 30mK, this same technology could increase the accuracy of other parameters in biochemical sensing.
Background:
Currently, biochemical sensing techniques often have inherent noise within the resultant measurements. This technology that employs Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry helps to reduce thermal drift noise, thus increasing the accuracy of measurements in biochemical applications.
Additionally, other current techniques in biochemical settings include systems that employ tagging of specimen. With the studied use of this technology with Whispering Gallery Mode Biochemical Sensing, this is a label-free technique.
Finally, with the reduced noise capabilities of this technology, resulting temperature measurements have shown increased spatial resolution. It is hypothesized that this accuracy would carry over to other parameter measurements. The technique is also capable of calibrating the microcavities used so that lower levels of detection are possible.
Applications:
- Single virus particle detection
- Label-free detection
- General single particle detection
Advantages:
- Reduced levels of noise
- High accuracy measurements
