Recent Advances in Fluorescence Lifetime Analytical Microsystems: Contact Optics and CMOS Time-Resolved Electronics

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Fluorescence spectroscopy is vital for medical diagnostics and bio-imaging but limited by bulky, expensive equipment.
• Current time-resolved fluorescence techniques like TCSPC are complex and costly.
• A need exists for high-performance, portable, and low-cost fluorescence sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore advances in contact sensing and CMOS technology for integrated fluorescence lifetime measurement.
• To address the limitations of current time-resolved fluorescence analysis systems.
• To enable the development of portable, low-cost diagnostic devices.

Main Methods:

• Investigating contact sensing to simplify optical components.
• Utilizing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) for on-chip detection and processing.
• Examining recent prototypes of integrated fluorescence lifetime measurement microsystems.

Main Results:

• Contact sensing and CMOS implementation significantly reduce size and power consumption.
• Prototypes demonstrate high performance, mitigating bulkiness and cost issues.
• Integrated microsystems show potential for advanced diagnostic applications.

Conclusions:

• CMOS-based contact sensing microsystems are a promising technology for portable diagnostics.
• These integrated systems offer a viable solution for application-specific, low-cost, time-resolved devices.
• The research paves the way for wider adoption of fluorescence lifetime measurements outside laboratory settings.