Apparatus and method with tiled light source array for integrated assay sensing

A method of making an apparatus for analyzing target chemicals, comprising:

• (a) providing two or more wafers of solid-state vertical cavity surface emitting laser light source material, each having a planar light-emitting surface;
• (b) attaching one or more species of binder molecules having binder chemical moieties on the planar light-emitting surface on each of the wafers for binding chemicals such that for each target chemical at least one wafer includes binder chemical moiety suitable for binding said each target chemical;
• (c) cleaving the wafers along lines two-dimensionally on the planar surface to obtain tiles of light sources such that each tile has one or more straight edges;
• and
• (d) arranging a number of the tiles of light sources into an array such that each target chemical corresponds to at least one of the tiles in the array including binder chemical moiety suitable for binding the target chemical and such that different target chemicals can be bound to the array, and such that each tile when activated will emit light to cause light interaction with target chemical bound to the binder chemical moiety on the tile to result in light pattern to indicate the presence or quantity of the target chemical.

A method for analyzing target chemicals in a sample, comprising:

• (a) providing an array of two or more light sources each having an emitting surface from which light is emitted from the light source and two or more binder chemical moieties associated with the light sources at the emitting surfaces for binding target chemicals such that different target chemicals can be bound to the array;
• (b) washing the sample over the array to bind target chemicals in the sample to the light sources and rinsing to remove unbound portion of the sample;
• (c) emitting light from the light sources to cause light interaction by target chemicals bound in the array, the light interaction resulting in a pattern of light;
• and
• (d) analyzing the pattern of light to determining the presence or quantity of target chemicals in the sample.