Flowcells with linear waveguides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12053776-B2
Application number	US-202217854741-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2022
Priority date	Jun 28, 2019
Publication date	Aug 6, 2024
Grant date	Aug 6, 2024

Abstract

For example, a flowcell includes: a nanowell layer having a first set of nanowells and a second set of nanowells to receive a sample; a first linear waveguide associated with the first set of nanowells, and a second linear waveguide associated with the second set of nanowells; and a first grating for the first linear waveguide, and a second grating for the second linear waveguide, the first and second gratings providing differential coupling of first light and second light.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flowcell comprising:
a substrate;
a nanowell layer having a first set of nanowells and a second set of nanowells to receive a sample;
a first linear waveguide associated with the first set of nanowells;
a second linear waveguide associated with the second set of nanowells;
a first grating for the first linear waveguide; and
a second grating for the second linear waveguide, the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide positioned between a portion of the substrate and the nanowell layer,
wherein one or more of the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide have a waveguide parameter and wherein one or more of the first grating and the second grating have a coupler parameter, the waveguide parameter, the coupler parameter, or both the waveguide parameter and the coupler parameter providing differential coupling of light into the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide.

2. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide parameter comprises at least one of: a cross sectional profile, a refractive index difference, a mode matching, or combinations thereof.

3. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the coupler parameter comprises at least one of: a refractive index, a pitch, a groove width, a groove height, a groove spacing, a grating non-uniformity, a groove orientation, a groove curvature, a coupler shape, or combinations thereof.

4. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first grating or the second grating is formed by at least one of slits, grooves, ridges, bands, or protruding longitudinal structures.

5. The flowcell of claim 1 , further comprising first cladding on either side of the first grating and second cladding on either side of the second grating.

6. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide are formed directly on the substrate.

7. The flowcell of claim 1 , further comprising an intermediate layer and wherein the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide are formed on the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer is positioned between the substrate and the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide.

8. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first grating and the second grating are staggered.

9. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first set of nanowells comprises a first row of nanowells that is aligned with the first linear waveguide and the second set of nanowells comprises a second row of nanowells that is aligned with the second linear waveguide.

10. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first set of nanowells comprises a first polygonal array of nanowells and the second set of nanowells comprises a second polygonal array of nanowells.

11. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first grating is spatially offset from the second grating in a direction that is substantially parallel to the first linear waveguide and the second linear waveguide.

12. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first grating is to couple first light to the first linear waveguide without coupling the first light to the second linear waveguide.

13. The flowcell of claim 1 , further comprising a light area aligned with the first grating but not aligned with the second grating.

14. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first grating and the second grating have different grating periods from each other.

15. The flowcell of claim 1 , wherein the first grating has a first refractive index and the second grating has a second refractive index.

Assignees

• Illumina Cambridge Ltd
• Illumina Inc

Inventors

• Evans Geraint
• Hong Stanley S

Classifications

• G02B27/4227

  in image scanning systems · CPC title

• G01N2021/6482

  Sample cells, cuvettes · CPC title

• G01N21/05

  Flow-through cuvettes (G01N21/09 takes precedence; handling fluid samples G01N1/10) · CPC title

• C12Q1/6869

  Methods for sequencing · CPC title

• B01L2300/0896

  Nanoscaled · CPC title