A single chip micro-DNA-array system based on CMOS image sensor technology

Abstract

A micro-DNA-array based on integrated CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) technology is demonstrated. This system utilizes gold nano-particle binding to a DNA sample, which subsequently absorbed to the chip surface through the hybridization process when a matching between the DNA samples and DNA probes on the chip surface is found. The degree of DNA matching is reflected by the opacity of a certain location on the chip, which can be detected by the underlying CMOS APS array. The chip has been fabricated with a 0.5/spl mu/m CMOS process and contains on-chip timing control, dynamic range enhancement by pulse-width modulation and correlated sampling. The system can detect DNA sample with extremely low concentration under ordinary light source.