MultiLab

There is a growing demand for miniaturised, multifunctional sensors capable of providing simultaneous access to diverse chemical and biochemical information, essential across various applications. Presently, such information is typically obtained by centralised laboratories and analytical techniques. While these methods will remain vital when an immediate response is unnecessary, easy-to-use, rapid point-of-need sensors that can be operated by non-specialists or even function in a fully automated (unattended) manner could revolutionise a wide array of fields such as disease management, robotics, or early detection of environmental threats.

Nanophotonic devices, which precisely control light in subwavelength volumes and enhance light-matter interactions, offer new opportunities for sensing applications, addressing the limitations of current analytical methods in terms of sensitivity, ease of use, and miniaturisation. However, there are challenges to be overcome.

MultiLab aims to tackle these challenges by developing a highly flexible multi-sensing platform compatible with wafer-scale manufacturing. This platform will integrate multiple sensing modalities to simultaneously detect biological, chemical, microorganism, and molecular targets for medical diagnostics and IoT-based environmental monitoring.

The sensing modalities integrated into the MultiLab platform include:

1. Plasmonic-augmented Arrayed Waveguide Grating sensing on a Si3N4 photonic platform for true and scalable multiplexed detection,
2. Mid-infrared Photothermal Spectroscopy (PTS) employing the same SiN photonic platform for on-chip interferometric sensing using Mach-Zehnder Interferometers (MZIs), which also incorporate plasmonic devices and optical read-out as with the PA-AWG,
3. Graphite-based electro-chemiluminescence sensing.

The system will be demonstrated in two applications:

1. IoT-enabled early warning of harmful algae blooms in freshwater sources,
2. Diagnosis and prognosis of fever without an apparent source.