SBIR-STTR Award

Multi-Channel Fluorescence Lifetime Measuring Instrument Using a Novel Low-Cost Digitizer
Award last edited on: 3/18/2024

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NSF
Total Award Amount
$606,000
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Mark Pavicic

Company Information

Dakota Technologies Inc

2201 12th Street North Suite A
Fargo, ND 58102
   (701) 237-4908
   info@dakotatechnologies.com
   www.dakotatechnologies.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 00
County: Cass

Phase I

Contract Number: 0215118
Start Date: 7/1/2002    Completed: 12/31/2002
Phase I year
2002
Phase I Amount
$100,000
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the development of a multi-channel fluorescence lifetime measuring instrument using a novel low-cost digitizer. The key to bringing the well-known utility of fluorescence lifetime measurements "to the masses" is to have a low-cost instrument with excellent speed and accuracy. This work will pioneer a measuring technique that, by taking advantage of recent developments in lasers, goes a long way toward meeting the needs of such an instrument. However, there is one vital component, the digitizer that presently accounts for more than half of the cost. Commercially available digitizers do not match the needs of the application and are therefore too expensive or lack essential capabilities. However, This work has found a unique custom ASIC that appears to be a good match. This ASIC is a waveform digitizer developed at Berkeley National Laboratory for the AMANDA neutrino telescope. This work will prototype and characterizes a multi-channel fluorescence lifetime measuring instrument that uses this ASIC as the digitizer. If the phase I objectives are achieved, this work will be able to build exceptionally affordable instruments that can enable and greatly expand the use of fluorescence lifetime measurements in a vast range of applications.

Phase II

Contract Number: 0321573
Start Date: 8/1/2003    Completed: 7/31/2005
Phase II year
2003
(last award dollars: 2005)
Phase II Amount
$506,000

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will deliver a low-cost, multi-channel digitizer that can revolutionize applications of fluorescence sensing with its ability to accurately capture over 10,000 complete fluorescence decay curves (waveforms) per second per channel. This novel low-cost digitizer exploits a unique 'flash capture' approach to analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion to achieve an exceptional combination of speed (>1GS/s), resolution (10 bits), and low power. Fluorescence sensing measurement underlies an immense array of cutting-edge applications because it provides a sensitive and versatile probe into nano-scale behavior and properties. The project will develop a full-featured instrument-grade engineering prototype of the digitizer and integrate it into a portable demonstration instrument to showcase capabilities such as distinguishing biological or chemical agents by their spectral and temporal signatures. This custom digitizer will match the capabilities of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) to deliver accurate, cost effective, and complete data collection. The digitizer will be the first low-cost compact digitizer suitable for the specific front-end LIF analysis of biological agents. Among the weapons of mass destruction that threaten people around the world, biological agents are perceived to be the main hazard facing us today. The system's ability to capture more information, faster and more accurately will reduce the high occurrence of false alarms suffered by today's systems, resulting in a more reliable system with the potential to save lives. When integrated with biomedical instrumentation, the digitizer will have scientific and educational benefits through the use at academic institutions for research and discovery.