Surface Plasmon Sensing Apparatus Light Shield Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plasmon-based sensing apparatus face challenges in achieving high precision and reproducibility due to variations in the angle of incidence and intensity of light, leading to fluctuations in the electric field and fluorescence detection, which are costly and impractical for applications like blood diagnosis.
Innovation Solution
A sensing apparatus that uses a light shield plate to condense light into a specified angular range, ensuring a uniform intensity distribution and eliminating the need for angular adjustments, thereby maintaining a consistent enhanced electric field for surface plasmon resonance, regardless of sample variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a rotating mechanism is used to adjust the prism angle for optimal plasmon resonance, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the angle adjustment function from a complex rotating mechanism and implements it through a simple translation stage that moves the sample unit linearly. This extraction principle simplifies the device while maintaining the capability to achieve optimal plasmon resonance angles for different samples.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameter from angular rotation to linear translation. By translating the sample unit horizontally, the effective angle of light incidence on the metal film is adjusted without requiring rotational movement, thereby simplifying the mechanical structure while preserving measurement precision.
2Adaptability or versatility
If angle adjustment mechanisms are implemented for each sample, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal translation stage that can accommodate multiple different samples and adjust the light incidence angle for each. This single multi-functional device replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized angle adjustment mechanisms, achieving sample adaptability without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic adjustability through the translation stage, allowing the system to adapt to different samples by changing the horizontal position. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the same apparatus to optimize plasmon resonance for various samples with different optical properties without requiring fixed, sample-specific configurations.
3Reliability
If light intensity varies with incident angle, then plasmon resonance effectiveness changes, but measurement reproducibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs feedback through the translation stage that allows iterative adjustment of the sample position to achieve optimal plasmon resonance for each sample. By translating the sample and monitoring the resonance signal, the system can find and maintain the optimal angle, ensuring both effectiveness and reproducibility across different samples.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables highly reproducible measurements with reduced costs, allowing for precise detection of analytes across different samples without the need for angle adjustments, ensuring consistent detection precision and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
an enhanced electric field that results from surface plasmon resonance on a metal film
Implementation Method 2
fluorescence from a fluorescent material that is excited by light at a specified wavelength to emit fluorescence
Implementation Method 3
a light shield plate positioned in the optical path of the incident light in order to condense the incident light into a parallel light beam having a specified angular range
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3~13
AI summary
A sensing apparatus comprises: a prism; a metal film provided on a surface of the prism; a substrate that is provided on a surface of the prism and which has formed therein a channel for supplying a sample to the metal film; a light source for issuing light; an optical unit for incident light by which the light being issued from the light source is launched into the prism at such an angle that the light is totally reflected on a boundary surface between the prism and the metal film, the optical unit for incident light including a light intensity distribution adjusting section that reduces difference between the maximum and the minimum values in the intensity distribution of the light that is launched into the prism; and a light detecting unit for detecting the light that is generated in neighborhood of the metal film.