Tunable light source for label-independent optical reader

1. A light source for interrogating at least one resonant waveguide grating (RWG) biosensor having a resonance linewidth, comprising:

a broadband light source that emits a light beam having a first spectral bandwidth greater than the RWG biosensor resonance linewidth;

a tunable optical filter having a tunable center wavelength and a spectral linewidth and arranged to receive and filter the light beam to cause the light beam to have a second spectral bandwidth substantially the same as the RWG biosensor resonance linewidth; and

an angle-tuned spectral flattening filter adjacent the tunable optical filter to flatten the first spectral bandwidth of the broadband light source.

2. The light source of claim 1 , wherein a central wavelength is tunable as a function of an angle of the tunable optical filter relative to the light beam.

3. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the optical filter comprises a single cavity sandwiched by opposing reflective layers.

4. The light source of claim 1 , where the optical filter has a free-spectral range (FSR) that is the same as or greater than the first spectral bandwidth.

5. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the RWG biosensor resonance linewidth is 0.8 nm measured at full-width half maximum.

6. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the broadband light source includes a superluminescent diode (SLD) or a light-emitting diode (LED).

7. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the broadband light source comprises a substantially spatially incoherent light source.

8. The light source of claim 7 , wherein the broadband light source comprises an array of one or more substantially spatially incoherent light emitters.

9. The light source of claim 8 , further comprising the one or more substantially spatially incoherent light emitters comprising one or more LEDs.

10. The light source of claim 1 , further comprising:

a polarizing beam splitter and a quarter-wave plate between the broadband light source and the tunable optical filter, and a fold mirror adjacent the tunable filter opposite the quarter-wave plate, the light beam passes twice through the tunable optical filter and exits the polarizing beam splitter as linearly polarized.

11. A label-independent optical reader for reading at least one resonant waveguide grating (RWG) biosensor supported by a microplate, comprising:

the light source of claim 1 to emit filtered light beams having wavelengths that sweep over the first spectral bandwidth;

an illumination system to direct the filtered light beams to the at least one RWG biosensor and form corresponding reflected light beams;

an optical imager to receive the reflected light beams and form digital images; and

a controller to process the digital images to establish a resonant wavelength for the at least one RWG biosensor.

12. A label-independent optical reader for reading at least one resonant waveguide grating (RWG) biosensor supported by a microplate, comprising:

the light source of claim 1 to emit a filtered light beam having a fixed wavelength within the first spectral bandwidth;

an illumination system to direct the filtered light beam to the at least one RWG biosensor to form a corresponding reflected light beam;

an optical imager to receive any reflected light beams and form digital images; and

a controller to process the digital images to translate an intensity change to a resonant wavelength shift for the at least one RWG biosensor.

13. A method of reading at least one resonant waveguide grating (RWG) biosensor having a resonance linewidth, comprising:

generating a light beam having a first spectral bandwidth greater than the RWG biosensor resonance;

passing the light beam through a tunable optical filter and an angle-tuned spectral flattening filter adjacent the tunable optical filter to flatten the first spectral bandwidth of the broadband light source, and adjusting the tunable filter to generate a series of light beams each having a second spectral bandwidth substantially the same as the RWG biosensor resonance linewidth but having different central wavelengths within the resonance linewidth;

directing the series of filtered light beams to be incident the at least one RWG biosensor and to generate a corresponding series of reflected light beams;

forming a series of digital images of the at least one RWG bionsensor based on the series of reflected light beams; and

processing the series of digital images to establish a resonant wavelength for the at least one RWG biosensor.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising generating the light beam using one of a superluminous diode (SLD) and a light-emitting diode (LED).

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein adjusting the tunable optical filter comprises changing a filter angle relative to the light beam passing therethrough.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising supporting the tunable filter in a filter support device and adjusting the filter angle by a control signal provided to the filter support device.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein said generating the light beam includes emitting light from a substantially spatially incoherent broadband light source.

18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising forming the substantially spatially incoherent broadband light source with one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

19. A method of reading at least one resonant waveguide grating (RWG) biosensor having a resonance linewidth, comprising:

generating a light beam having a first spectral bandwidth greater than the RWG biosensor resonance linewidth;

passing the light beam through a tunable optical filter and adjusting the tunable filter to generate a light beam having a second spectral bandwidth substantially the same as the RWG biosensor resonance linewidth and a fixed central wavelength within the resonance linewidth;

passing the light beam through an angularly tuned flattening filter to flatten the first spectral bandwidth of the broadband light source;

directing the filtered light beam to be incident the at least one RWG biosensor to generate a corresponding reflected light beam;

forming a series of digital images of the at least one RWG bionsensor based on the reflected light beam; and

processing the series of digital images to establish a resonant wavelength for the at least one RWG biosensor.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein adjusting the tunable optical filter further comprises changing a filter angle relative to the light beam passing therethrough.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein processing the series of digital images comprises translating intensity changes into shifts in the resonant wavelength.

22. The method of claim 19 , further comprising generating the light beam using one of a superluminous diode (SLD) and a light-emitting diode (LED).

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein said generating the light beam includes emitting light from a substantially spatially incoherent broadband light source.

24. The method of claim 19 , further comprising forming the substantially spatially incoherent broadband light source with one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).