Award Abstract # 1150952
CAREER: Single element nanophotonic force transducers using subwavelength optical waveguides

NSF Org: ECCS
Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
Initial Amendment Date: January 24, 2012
Latest Amendment Date: June 5, 2015
Award Number: 1150952
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: mahmoud fallahi
ECCS
 Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems
ENG
 Directorate for Engineering
Start Date: April 1, 2012
End Date: March 31, 2017 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $400,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $454,590.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2012 = $400,000.00
FY 2013 = $25,615.00

FY 2015 = $28,975.00
History of Investigator:
  • Donald Sirbuly (Principal Investigator)
    dsirbuly@ucsd.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of California-San Diego
9500 GILMAN DR
LA JOLLA
CA  US  92093-0021
(858)534-4896
Sponsor Congressional District: 50
Primary Place of Performance: The Regents of the Univ. of Calif., U.C. San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive # 0934
La Jolla
CA  US  92093-0934
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
50
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): UYTTZT6G9DT1
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): EPMD-ElectrnPhoton&MagnDevices
Primary Program Source: 01001213DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT

01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 8028, 094E, 1045
Program Element Code(s): 151700
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.041

ABSTRACT

The objective of this program is to uncover a novel single element force sensing platform that is based on force-sensitive plasmonic coatings embedded in the sharp decaying evanescent field of a sub-wavelength optical waveguide. By linking plasmonic materials such as gold nanoparticles to the optical waveguides via compressible polymer coatings, a highly sensitive force transducer can be fabricated. The transducer works by utilizing a dielectric-plasmon coupling effect to provide sub-nanometer optical feedback on the position of the plasmonic material in the evanescent field. By leveraging the size, tunable elastic properties of the polymer coating, and wavelength guided in the fibers, a highly versatile force detection scheme can be configured that has sub-pico-newton force sensitivity at the same time being self-contained and mobile.

The intellectual merit is that discovering new optical methods capable of quantifying forces at the nanoscale will transform our ability to monitor cellular mechanics, determine kinetics of bond formation and breakage, and optimize drug design parameters, measure elastic moduli of materials, and image surfaces not accessible by current scan probe techniques.

The broader impacts are that advancing nanophotonic analytical techniques will have a significant impact on industrial research and development interested in high-throughput screening techniques used in antibody screening, drug, drug discovery, or DNA sequencing. In addition to the industrial impacts, this program will be leveraged to develop a new ?Mobile Science Lab? educational program that brings the lab to the classroom in school districts with low budgets and minimal resources to teach students about research and science.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Donald J. SirbulyRaymond W. FriddleJoshua VillanuevaQian Huang "Nanomechanical force transducers for biomolecular and intracellular measurements: is there room to shrink and why do it?" Reports on Progress in Physics , v.78 , 2015 , p.024101
I. YoonS.E. BakerK. KimN.O. FischerD. HeineckY. WangS.C. EsenerD.J. Sirbuly "Nanofiber near-field light-matter interactions for enhanced detection of molecular level displacements and dynamics" Nano Letters , v.13 , 2013 , p.1440-1445
I. YoonS.E. BakerK. KimY. WangS.C. EsenerD.J. Sirbuly "Profiling the evanescent field of nanofiber waveguides using self-assembled polymer coatings" Nanoscale , v.5 , 2012 , p.552-555
Joshua VillanuevaQian HuangDonald J. Sirbuly "Identification and design of novel polymer-based mechanical transducers: A nano-structural model for thin film indentation" Journal of Applied Physics , v.116 , 2014 , p.104307
Qian HuangIlsun Yoon Josh Villanueva Kanguk KimDonald J. Sirbuly "Quantitative mechanical analysis of thin compressible polymer monolayers on oxide surfaces" Soft Matter , v.10 , 2014 , p.8001

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

The goal of this project was to engineer a new device structure capable of measuring forces with sub-piconewton force resolution. To do this a subwavelength optical fiber was coated with a thin, compressible polymer cladding was studded with metal nanoparticles. The polymer coating acts as a molecular spring and the nanoparticles act as optical antennas that transmit real-time information regarding their distance from the fiber surface which can be correlated to a force once the mechanical properties of the polymer cladding are known.

INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This project has resulted in a novel way of measuring molecular-level forces using a non-interferometric read-out which should enable a host of new applications including the ability to monitor cellular mechanics, listening to acoustic signature produced by biomolecular systems, and quantifying molecular binding events. The project’s key scientific task included the synthesis and characterization of thin (< 20 nm thick) compressible polymer coatings, the quantification of plasmon-dielectric coupling effects as a function of distance, and how to optically detect forces acting on the nanoparticles by simply monitoring their far-field scattering intensities in the evanescent field. The realized devices show excellent performance such as force sensitivities < 200 fN and the ability to detect sound pressure levels down to -30 dB. The project resulted in 9 publications (journals include Nat. Photon., Nano Lett., and ACS Nano), 10+ news write-ups, and 1 patent.   

BROADER IMPACTS: This project has had immediate impacts on other areas of science beyond the key objectives originally outlined. For example, the effort to properly calibrate the devices resulted in a new combined atomic force microscope (AFM)/optical microscope being built which can now be used to carry out fine biomechanical studies not previously possible. The ability of the fiber optics to detect acoustic signatures from biological systems has also gained a tremendous amount of interest from the broader scientific community and industrial sectors. Having the sensitivity to locally monitor sound signals with high resolution within the body could enable new stethoscopic and imaging applications for medical research and diagnostics. In addition to the broader science and engineering impacts, this project has had an impact on middle and high school students. For example, the PI along with graduate and undergraduate students involved on the project have shared their passion for research, via demos and testimonies, to middle schoolers from local San Diego school districts that are under resourced and diverse. These events will have a lifelong impact and help build a pipeline for next-generation scientists and engineers.


Last Modified: 06/28/2017
Modified by: Donald J Sirbuly

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