Colloquium

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Silicon Radio-Frequency Biomolecular Sensor Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

April 7, 2010l Hit 886
Date : April 7, 2010 16:00 ~
Speaker : Donhee Ham(Harvard U)
Professor :
Location : 56동106호
We have recently developed a 0.1-kg nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system that can be held at the palm of the hand. The entire system is 1200 times lighter, 1100 times smaller, yet 150 times more spin mass sensitive than a 120-kg state-of-the-art commercial benchtop NMR system. The drastic miniaturization was made possible by combining the physics of NMR with the high-performance silicon radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuit. The miniature NMR system can be used to detect biomolecules such as cancer marker proteins and viruses, thus, can be useful for disease screening. This work showcases how silicon RF chips can be used not only for wireless applications, but also for disease screening in the low-cost, hand-held platform, in direct interface with biological samples. The NMR system can be also used for oil detection, environment control, and potentially, for quantum computing.