OPTICAL SENSOR HAVING OPTIMIZED SURFACE PROFILE

摘要

A method and apparatus for optically assaying a targeted substance in a sample using a sensor having an optimized groove profile. The optical sensor has a grooved surface defined by a first sinusoidal component superposed with one or more additional sinusoidal components such that a reflectance anomaly occurs at multiple resonance angles. A measure of the targeted substance in the sample can be more precisely calculated as a function of a change in angular distance between the resonance angles. Advantages of the present invention include increased sensitivity and less susceptibility to system drifts due to mechanical motion and thermal changes than conventional diffraction grating sensors.