Optical COVID-19 detection system

A device, comprising:

• a substrate coupled to a metal oxide layer;
• a graphene layer coupled to the metal oxide layer;
• a chemical or biochemical linker functionalized with the graphene layer;
• a plurality of SARS-COV-2 receptors that are bound to the graphene layer via the chemical or biochemical linker, wherein the plurality of SARS-COV-2 receptors comprise SARS-COV-2 spike antibodies or SARS-COV-2 spike proteins, wherein binding of target molecules to the plurality of SARS-COV-2 receptors changes a phononic energy of the graphene layer from a first phononic energy to a second phononic energy;
• and
• a housing coupled to the substrate, wherein the housing provides unobstructed optical access to a target location on the graphene layer for Raman spectroscopy measurements, and wherein the housing comprises alignment features that enable repeatable positioning of the device relative to a Raman spectrometer for alignment of a laser with the target location on the graphene layer, wherein the optical access permits determination of the first phononic energy from the target location and the second phononic energy from the target location via Raman spectroscopy.