We present a simple chip-based refractometer with a central organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source and two opposed organic photovoltaic (OPV) detectors (all vacuum deposited organic/organic' heterojunctions) in a true dual-beam operation that is easily integrated into a field-portable instrumentation package. The sensor platform uses the fraction of emitted light from conventional OLEDs that is coupled into attenuated total reflectance (ATR) modes, instead of in the forward (display) direction. The dual beam configuration allows for normalization of the sensor response against fluctuations in OLED stability/integrity, with significantly enhanced sensitivity to refractive index changes relative to the single-beam configuration. Changes in refractive index (?R.I.) down to ~10-3 refractive index units could be detected for single channel operation, with sensitivity increased to ?R.I. ~ 10-4 units with a dual beam configuration, which is sufficient for low level detection of a variety of analytes which can be captured on a sensing surface.

Planar, chip-based dual-beam refractometer using an integrated organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source and organic photovoltaic (OPV) detectors

239th National Meeting (2010)

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