PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | June 1, 2015
Proc. SPIE. 9519, Nanotechnology VII
KEYWORDS: Fabrication, Gold, Nanostructures, Microfluidics, Polymers, Silicon, Biosensors, Epoxies, Nanoplasmonics, Nanolithography
An important motivation of the actual biosensor research is to develop a multiplexed sensing platform of high sensitivity fabricated with large-scale and low-cost technologies for applications such as diagnosis and monitoring of diseases, drug discovery and environmental control. Biosensors based on localized plasmon resonance (LSPR) have demonstrated to be a novel and effective platform for quantitative detection of biological and chemical analytes. Here, we describe a novel label-free nanobiosensor consisting of an array of closely spaced, vertical, elastomeric nanopillars capped with plasmonic gold nanodisks in a SU-8 channel. The principle is based on the refractive index sensing using the LSPR of gold nanodisks. The fabrication of the nanobiosensor is based on replica molding technique and gold nanodisks are incorporated on the polymer structures by e-beam evaporation. In this work, we provide the strategies for controlling the silicon nanostructure replication using thermal polymers and photopolymers with different Young's modulus, in order to minimize the common distortions in the process and to obtain a reliable replica of the Si master. The master mold of the biosensor consists of a hexagonal array of silicon nanopillars, whose diameter is ~200 nm, and whose height can range from 250 nm to 1.300 μm, separated 400 nm from the center to center, integrated in a SU-8 microfluidic channel.
