Advances in on-chip photodetection for applications in miniaturized genetic analysis systems

Microfabrication techniques have become increasingly popular in the development of next generation DNA analysis devices. Improved on-chip fluorescence detection systems may have applications in developing portable hand-held instruments for point-of-care diagnostics. Miniaturization of fluorescence detection involves construction of ultra-sensitive photodetectors that can be integrated onto a fluidic platform combined with the appropriate optical emission filters. We have previously demonstrated integration PIN photodiodes onto a microfabricated electrophoresis channel for separation and detection of DNA fragments. In this work, we present an improved detector structure that uses a PINN+ photodiode with an on-chip interference filter and a robust liquid barrier layer. This new design yields high sensitivity (detection limit of 0.9 ng mul(-1) of DNA), low-noise (S/N similar to 100/1) and enhanced quantum efficiencies (> 80%) over the entire visible spectrum. Applications of these photodiodes in various areas of DNA analysis such as microreactions (PCR), separations (electrophoresis) and microfluidics (drop sensing) are presented.