THE CHALLENGE
The challenge in developing reliable, scalable optical voltage sensors lies at the intersection of technical complexity and commercial viability. Current solutions—ranging from fluorescent dyes to random plasmonic nanostructures—face critical limitations: they either require invasive labeling, suffer from photobleaching, or produce inconsistent signals due to unpredictable “hotspot” formation and complex fabrication. This makes them unsuitable for mass production or integration into compact, chip-based platforms. Businesses seeking to commercialize next-generation electrochemical and bioelectronic diagnostics need optical sensors that are label-free, robust, reproducible, and compatible with existing microfabrication processes. However, achieving this balance remains difficult, as conventional approaches fail to deliver the required sensitivity, stability, and spatial resolution without compromising manufacturability or reliability in physiological environments.
OUR SOLUTION
Our solution is a chip-integrated, scalable optical voltage sensor based on engineered arrays of gold–silica–gold nanostructures that combine precise electrical control with powerful light-based readout. These nanoantennas are fabricated using a semiconductor-compatible process that enables mass production and easy integration into existing electronic platforms. Unlike traditional sensors that rely on dyes or random nanostructures, our device delivers real-time, label-free voltage and electrochemical monitoring by converting electrical changes at the nanoscale directly into optical signals. With high sensitivity, polarization-tunable performance, and strong near-infrared response for better biocompatibility, this technology offers a robust, reproducible, and commercially viable platform for applications ranging from neural diagnostics to battery monitoring and biosensing—without the complexity, variability, or labeling required by current methods.
Figure: Top-down and cross-sectional (inset) SEM images of fabricated NLNOEs
Advantages:
- Label-free, quantitative optical voltage sensing
- Scalable, chip-integrated nanofabrication
- Broadband, NIR-compatible multiresonant response
- High-density plasmonic hotspots for multiplexed detection
Potential Application:
- Real-time cellular electrophysiology assays
- Label-free electrochemical biosensing
- In vitro drug screening
- Implantable neural voltage sensors
