A grating-coupled planar optical waveguide sensor is presented for sensing of bacteria by evanescent waves. The waveguide design results in increased depth of penetration into the sample volume, which makes it suitable for detecting micrometer-sized biological objects. We tested the sensor's performance by monitoring the adhesion of Escherichia coli K12 cells to the sensor surface.

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Fabrication of micro‐ and nanostructures at line‐speed of 60 m min−1 by large‐area roll‐to‐roll extrusion coating is demonstrated. Nanopillars with diameters 80 nm and heights 100 nm are replicated in polypropylene. The main limiting factor for replication on nanoscale is the retardation time for solidification of the melt.

A reverse symmetry waveguide is presented for evanescent wave sensing in aqueous solutions. The waveguide consists of a thin polystyrene film, supported by a thicker substrate layer of nanoporous silica on glass. The nanoporous substrate layer has a refractive index of nS=1.193, hence, with an aqueous cover refractive index of nC=1.331, a reverse symmetry (nS<nC) is obtained. A surface relief grating formed in the polystyrene film is used as a coupling element. Sensitivities considerably higher than for a conventional waveguide sensor are demonstrated.

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Lab-scale plasmonic color printing using nano-structured and subsequently metallized surfaces have been demonstrated to provide vivid colors. However, upscaling these structures for large area manufacturing is extremely challenging due to the requirement of nanometer precision of metal thickness. In this study, we have investigated a plasmonic color meta-surface design that can be easily upscaled. We have demonstrated the feasibility of fabrication of these plasmonic color surfaces by a high-speed roll-to-roll method, comprising roll-to-roll extrusion coating at 10 m min creating a polymer foil having 100 nm deep pits of varying sub-wavelength diameter and pitch length. Subsequently this polymer foil was metallized and coated also by high-speed roll-to-roll methods. The perceived colors have high tolerance towards the thickness of the metal layer, when this thickness exceeds the depths of the pits, which enables the robust high-speed fabrication. This finding can pave the way for plasmonic meta-surfaces to be implemented in a broader range of applications such as printing, memory, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), biosensors, flexible displays, photovoltaics, security, and product branding.

The effect of the attachment and spreading of living cells on the modes of a grating coupled reverse symmetry waveguide sensor is investigated in real time. The reverse symmetry design has an increased probing depth into the sample making it well suited for the monitoring of cell morphology. As a result, significant changes in the incoupling peak height and peak shape were observed during cell attachment and spreading. It is suggested that the area under the incoupling peaks reflects the initial cell attachment process, while the mean peak position is mostly governed by the spreading of the cells.

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