Title: MISSION (Mid- Infrared Silicon Photonic Sensors for Healthcare and Environmental Monitoring)
Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Abstract: Silicon Photonics, the technology of electronic-photonic circuits on silicon chips, is transforming communications technology, particularly data centre communications, and bringing photonics to mass markets, utilising technology in the wavelength range 1.2 micrometres - 1.6 micrometres. Our vision is to extend the technical capability of Silicon Photonics to Mid -Infrared (MIR) wavelengths (3-15 micrometres), to bring the benefits of low cost manufacturing, technology miniaturisation and integration to a plethora of new applications, transforming the daily lives of mass populations. To do this we propose to develop low-cost, high performance, silicon photonics chip-scale sensors operating in the MIR wavelength region. This will change the way that healthcare, and environmental monitoring are managed. The main appeal of the MIR is that it contains strong absorption fingerprints for multiple molecules and substances that enable sensitive and specific detection (e.g. CO2, CH4, H2S, alcohols, proteins, lipids, explosives etc.) and therefore MIR sensors can address challenges in healthcare (e.g. cancer, poisoning, infections), and environmental monitoring (trace gas analysis, climate induced changes, water pollution), as well as other applications such as industrial process control (emission of greenhouse gases), security (detection of explosives and drugs at airports and train stations), or food quality (oils, fruit storage), to name but a few. However, MIR devices are currently realised in bulk optics and integrated MIR photonics is in its infancy, and many MIR components and circuits have either not yet been developed or their performance is inferior to their visible/near-IR counterparts. Research leaders from the Universities of Southampton, Sheffield and York, the University Hospital Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre will utilise their world leading expertise in photonics, electronics, sensing and packaging to unleash the full potential of integrated MIR photonics. We will realise low cost, mass manufacturable devices and circuits for biomedical and environmental sensing, and subsequently improve performance by on-chip integration with sources, detectors, microfluidic channels, and readout circuits and build demonstrators to highlight the versatility of the technology in important application areas. We will initially focus on the following applications, which have been chosen by consulting end users of the technology (the NHS and our industrial partners): 1) Therapeutic drug monitoring (e.g. vancomycin, rifampicin and phenytoin); 2) Liquid biopsy (rapid cancer diagnostics from blood samples); 3) Ocean monitoring (CO2, CH4, N2O detection).

Lay abstract: The overall vision of MISSION is to bring mid-infrared photonics to mass market applications. This target cannot be achieved unless several key challenges can be overcome which consequently defines our research objectives: 1. To develop waveguiding platforms that effectively cover the MIR operating wavelength ranges, that are both broadband (spectral width = 3-4 micrometres at a central wavelength of 7 micrometres) and low loss (<1dB/cm), facilitating "fingerprint" sensing to uniquely identify key analytes. 2. To develop sources and detectors for the MIR wavelengths suitable for integration with SiP platforms. These will cover multiple wavelength windows using Quantum/Interband Cascade lasers (QCLs/ICLs) or a wider window with superluminescent diodes, semiconductor detectors and novel micro-bolometers. 3. To develop the microfluidic framework for delivering the analyte to the sensor chip with the key challenge of removing water. We will address this challenge by drying the sample, using liquid phase extraction as well as suitable membranes to separate the target molecules from the water. 4. To develop sub-systems, integrated device designs and component packaging responding to the requirements and analytical approaches for each application. This will integrate optical components and sample handling to deliver compact, low cost, chip based sensing to applications that currently have insensitive and/or expensive bulk optics based solutions. 5. To demonstrate (i) therapeutic drug measurement on real patient blood samples within 10 minutes from sample to answer down to levels of 8mg/L (ii) cancer diagnostics using stored patient serum samples with sensitivity and specificity >93% and (iii) oceanic gas detection with climate relevant performance, leading to clinically and environmentally significant, low TRL, system level demonstrators.

Research activity codes: 2.5 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGIES (AETIOLOGY)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE