| Biosensors are used to convert a biological change into a quantifiable signal that can be output via a transducer and are commonly used for the detection and identification of biological agents. Optical biosensors are a class of biosensors that make use of light as the transduced signal and are desirable for their highly sensitive, often non-destructive analyte analysis. Two such optical biosensors being investigated are the Stacked Planar Affinity Regulated Resonant Optical Waveguide (SPARROW) biosensor and the photonic crystal-based, resonant-enhanced fluorescence sensor. These sensors make use of stacked, planar, resonant dielectric waveguides and periodic optical nanostructures, respectively, for biomolecule detection.;This thesis describes the theory, design, and fabrication of these optical biosensors. For the SPARROW sensor, focus is given to the optimization and characterization of stacked, low loss dielectric waveguide structures deposited via electron beam evaporation, Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD). Time and frequency domain simulations for the fluorescence-based, photonic crystal sensor are presented for use in the sensor's design and theoretical characterization. Photonic crystal structures are explored experimentally via the design, fabrication, and optical testing of one-dimensionally periodic Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) structures. |
