Applications of Optoelectronics Sensor Technology in Environmental and Personal Health Monitoring

Integrated optoelectronics is originally developed based on microelectronics processing, fabrication, and integration. Over the past decade, its focus has been shifted from telecommunication devices towards biomedical and environmental applications.  The most notable advances include nano/micro-optical-electrical-mechanical systems (N/MOEMS) and optofluidics.  Current technology developments not only lead to novel devices, but application oriented, full systems integration dissimilar materials and modules at the system level. 

These enabling technologies, in turn, facilitated the emerging growth of a number of new frontiers in biomedical, clinical, and environmental applications. Highly integrated micro-nano-systems (MNS) technology will lead to wireless sensing devices that can fit into small spaces with improved sensitivity and specificity.  As a result, a number of such technologies have find application in the emerging field of environment pollutant monitoring, wearable physiological monitoring, activity sensing, and even clinical diagnostic devices.

Another important feature of microelectronics fabrication based micro-nano system technology is the potential for low cost, sensitive, and automated sample handling capability. These advantages have enabled large scale, distributed sensing and monitoring applications.