A detector system for identifying substances in a sample

摘要

A detector system for identifying substances in a sample is described. The detector system comprises: a plurality of cantilevers (330) arranged in a cantilever array, the cantilevers being arranged so as to be able to bend along a cantilever axis, wherein at least a number of the cantilevers are provided with a recognition layer for identifying a substance in the sample, each of the number of cantilevers being adapted to bend along its cantilever axis if the recognition layer reacts to a substance corresponding to the recognition layer, and an optical system for probing a deflection of the cantilevers. The optical system includes a common-path interferometer setup comprising a transmitter part and a receiver part. The transmitter part comprises light source means (310) for emitting spatially coherent light and arranged so as to illuminate at least parts of the cantilevers of the cantilever array. The receiver part comprises a detector array (334,336) and a receiver diffractive optical element (318) adapted so as to collect light reflected from the cantilever array and for each cantilever to form at least two spatially overlapping images of said parts of the cantilever so that interference between the two spatially overlapping images is formed at and measured by at least one separate detector (334) of the detector array.