Novel Photonic Bio-Chip Sensor Based on Strained Graphene Sheets for Blood Cell Sorting

A photonic biochip with a tunable response in the visible range is suggested for blood cell sorting applications. Multi-layers of ZnS and Ge slabs (as the main building blocks), hosting a cell in which bio-sample could be injected, are considered as the core of the sensor. In order to increase the sensitivity of the chip, the bio-cell is capsulated inside air slabs, and its walls are coated with graphene sheets. Paying special attention to white and red blood components, the optimum values for structural parameters are extracted first. Tunability of the sensor detectivity is then explored by finding the role of the probe light incident angle, as well as its polarization. The strain of the graphene layer and angle in which it is applied are also suggested to further improve the performance tunability. Results reflect that the biochip can effectively identify selected components through their induced different optical features, besides of the different figure of merit and sensitivity amounts that are recorded for them by the sensor.

Automated summary

A photonic biochip with tunable response in the visible range was proposed for blood cell sorting, utilizing multi-layered ZnS and Ge slabs as the core components. By encapsulating the bio-cell in air slabs and coating its walls with graphene sheets, the sensitivity of the chip was enhanced. The detectivity of the sensor was explored by adjusting the probe light incident angle and polarization, as well as introducing strain and angle in the graphene layer to improve performance tunability. Results showed the biochip could effectively identify selected components through different optical features induced, with varying figure of merit and sensitivity recorded for each component by the sensor.